AI was supposed to make our lives easier: automating tedious tasks, streamlining communication, and freeing up time for creative thinking. But what if the very tool meant to increase efficiency is fueling cognitive decline and burnout instead?
The Workflation Effect
Since AI entered the workplace, managers expect teams to produce more work in less time. They see tasks completed in two hours instead of two weeks, without understanding the process behind it. Yet, AI still makes too many mistakes for high-quality output, forcing workers to adjust, edit, and review everything it produces—creating “workflation,” which adds more work to already overloaded plates. AI has accelerated expectations because managers know that teams using it can work faster, but quality work still requires time, focus, and expertise.
“We are seeing that it can lead to a lot of churn and work slop—poor quality output, in particular when it’s being used by junior team members,” says Carey Bentley, CEO of Lifehack Method, a productivity coaching company. When team members lack the expertise to audit AI output, they take it at face value, which can lead to multimillion-dollar errors.
The percentage of companies using AI in at least one business function is rising every year, and one of the most popular uses is in marketing. However, many brands flood social media with formulaic, off-putting content that prioritizes speed over emotional connection, sacrificing creativity and differentiation.
The consequences of using AI without proper quality review aren’t just about brand reputation or lost deals—they also add stress while eroding workers’ creativity, problem-solving abilities, and critical thinking.
Cognitive Decline and Burnout with AI
Research from MIT shows that relying on AI tools to think for us, rather than with us, leads to “cognitive offloading”—outsourcing mental effort in ways that gradually weaken memory, problem-solving, and critical thinking.
The study found that participants using GPT-based tools showed measurable declines in these areas compared to control groups. Just as GPS impairs spatial memory, relying on AI for thinking may weaken our capacity for original thought, because the brain needs practice to maintain cognitive functions.
When we layer that cognitive debt on top of the relentless pace that AI enables, we aren’t just doing more work; we’re doing it with diminished mental capacity. Workers are reviewing AI outputs without having the time to thoroughly evaluate the quality, making decisions without space for reflection, and producing content without engaging the creative processes that generate real insight.
In the long term, the overwhelm leads to small mistakes, such as forgetting to add a document, not finishing an edit, or missing a deadline; these are the first signs of burnout. “It really starts small, and that’s why it gets missed so often,” explains Naomi Carmen, a business consultant specializing in leadership and company culture.
These minor errors aren’t signs of laziness, distraction, or disengagement, and when managers respond with performance reviews instead of support, the cycle only accelerates.
The Training Gap
Most people using AI haven’t been adequately trained, confusing its confidence for truth. Neuroscientist David Eagleman refers to this as the “intelligence echo illusion”—the perception that AI is intelligent because it responds with apparent insight, when in reality it merely reflects stored human knowledge.
Without understanding how AI works, leadership develops unrealistic expectations that cascade through organizations, requiring faster and higher-quality work that’s nearly impossible to sustain.
“Expecting your team to use AI without proper training is like handing them a Ferrari and expecting them to win races right away,” Bentley explains. Carmen adds, “The input is going to directly affect the output.”
Warning Signs AI Is Fueling Burnout
According to a 2024 study by The Upwork Research Institute, 77% of employees believe their workload has increased since they started using AI. Key warning signs include:
- Errors and delays: mistakes slip through because workers rush to meet unrealistic deadlines.
- Not feeling time savings: employees work harder than ever despite using “time-saving” tools.
- Always-on culture: leadership sets expectations at AI-speed, resulting in an always-on culture that multiplies workload and stress.
How to Use AI Without Burning People Out
The solution isn’t abandoning AI, but implementing it thoughtfully. Here are four ways to do it:
- Proper training: hire experts to audit existing workflows and provide recommendations, then show team members how to produce high-quality output.
- Clear goals: connect AI use to specific KPIs instead of chasing trends. Companies should remain rooted in their core mission and values, rather than adopting every new AI tool.
- Treat AI as a low-level assistant: use it for research, initial drafts, and data organization, but keep creative problem-solving and critical thinking in the hands of humans.
- Support your team: life events, stress, and fatigue mean employees can’t deliver at a constant, AI-driven pace. Leadership should keep the human element at the center of decisions, recognizing that policies and expectations must account for the complexity of real lives, not just the output.
Moving Forward with AI
In an era defined by AI, sustainable performance comes from empathy, connection, and space for creativity. A healthy workplace—where employees can rest, express themselves, and even have fun—boosts engagement, problem-solving, innovation, and efficiency. AI can support this, but only when implemented thoughtfully, with the human element at its core.
