80% of workers lack the time and energy to do their jobs

The latest Microsoft Work Trend Index revealed a striking headline: 80% of the global workforce report they lack the time and energy to do their jobs properly. For business leaders, this should ring alarm bells. Productivity doesn’t just rely on systems and outputs, it rests on people having the capacity to think clearly, make sound decisions, and engage with their work.

If four in five employees feel unable to perform at their best, then something isn’t working in the way organisations structure and support the modern workplace. And this isn’t about individuals being lazy or disorganised. It’s a structural issue that demands a structural response.

Why are workers running on empty?

There are several reasons why so many people feel overstretched:

1. The weight of ‘busy work’
Much of the working day in 2025 is consumed by tasks that are low-value but unavoidable. Endless email chains, back-and-forth messaging, data entry, form-filling, and hours of meetings that achieve very little. All of this saps time and energy. By the end of the day, many employees haven’t touched work that requires genuine thought or creativity.

2. The blurred boundaries of hybrid work
While flexible working has its benefits, it has also extended the working day. Employees check emails in the evening, dip into spreadsheets at weekends, and struggle to switch off when home is also the office. This constant connectivity drains energy reserves and erodes focus.

3. Complexity without clarity
Many organisations layer in new software, processes, or compliance steps without reviewing the bigger picture. What is meant to streamline ends up adding complexity. Employees spend too much time navigating the system rather than producing results.

4. The emotional load of work today
Beyond the mechanical tasks, there’s an unseen energy cost. Handling difficult customers, managing organisational change, or working under constant economic and performance pressure takes its toll. Energy isn’t just physical—it’s emotional too, and many workplaces underestimate that.

Taken together, these factors explain why productivity stalls even when employees are technically working hard. Energy and time are being drained in the wrong places.

Where AI could make a difference

AI tools can be genuinely transformative—not as a replacement for human effort, but as an assistant that handles the routine, repetitive, or mechanical aspects of work.

AI is often framed in extremes: either as the threat that will eliminate jobs, or as a miracle cure that will revolutionise everything overnight. The reality is somewhere in-between. At its best, AI is like a capable colleague who can take the drudgery off your plate so you can focus on the work that matters most.

For example:

• Instead of spending an hour drafting and redrafting a client email, AI can provide a strong first draft that you refine

• Instead of trawling through hundreds of rows of data, AI can highlight the key patterns so you can focus on interpretation

• Instead of wrestling with formatting, transcriptions, or summaries, AI can automate the process, leaving you free to apply critical thinking

I believe that AI is not here to replace the judgement, empathy, or creativity that humans bring, because those qualities are irreplaceable. What it can do, however, is give employees the opportunity to use those qualities to their fullest.

Think of AI as the scaffolding that supports a building project. It doesn’t design the house or decide how it should look—it simply makes it easier for the builder to work safely, quickly, and effectively.

If organisations adopt AI with care, what might future workplaces look like?

On the positive side, we could see employees experiencing a genuine reduction in ‘work about work’. Meetings could be shorter and more focused, because AI has already prepared a concise summary of the key points. Project planning could become more efficient, with automated systems flagging risks before they derail timelines. Admin would no longer be the silent thief of time.

Freed from these constraints, people could spend more of their energy on strategy, creativity, relationship-building, and problem-solving. Engagement and morale would likely rise, because employees feel more valued when their unique skills are put to good use. Businesses would benefit from sharper decisions, better customer service, and more resilient teams.

That said, AI is not a panacea. There are potential pitfalls. If leaders treat AI purely as a tool for cost-cutting, they risk stripping work of its human value and further disengaging staff. If AI is used without transparency or proper safeguards, it can embed bias or create ethical risks. And if organisations simply use AI to accelerate output without reducing demand, workers may find themselves running even faster on the same treadmill.

The future, therefore, is not about AI saving us; it’s about how leaders choose to use it. With the right balance, AI can be a genuine ally in restoring the time and energy that the Microsoft report shows is so desperately lacking. Without that balance, it risks becoming another burden.

A call to business leaders

The statistic that 80% of workers feel drained isn’t just an interesting soundbite—it’s a call to action. Leaders need to look beyond short-term productivity targets and consider how work is structured day to day. AI is part of the solution, but only when implemented with care, transparency, and a focus on human empowerment.

I say this time and again: AI is not the enemy of human work, nor is it a saviour. It’s a tool. And, like any tool, its value depends entirely on the intent and skill of the person wielding it.

The organisations that thrive in coming years will be the ones that use AI not to replace people, but to give them back the time and energy they need to do their jobs well.