Many companies have seen productivity gains after adopting artificial intelligence in their operations, but workers are now spending even more time verifying AI-generated outputs, a new survey shows.
Workday, an AI platform company specializing in human resources and finance, released these findings on the 11th in its report titled "Beyond Productivity: Measuring AI's True Value."
Workday conducted the survey in November last year with Hanover Research, polling 3,200 workers across Asia-Pacific, North America, and Europe-Middle East-Africa regions. All respondents were full-time employees at companies with annual revenues exceeding $100 million who actively use AI technology in their work.
According to Workday, 82% of Korean employees surveyed saved one to seven hours per week through AI adoption. However, a significant portion found that legacy operational processes remained unchanged, forcing them to spend additional time adjusting rapidly generated outputs. This phenomenon—managing quickly produced results within rigid, outdated workflows—is called the "Rework Tax."
One-third of workers, or 31%, spent an average of one to two hours weekly clarifying, correcting, or rewriting low-quality AI-generated content. "This 'Rework Tax' phenomenon is blocking the conversion of time saved by AI into actual return on investment," Workday explained.
Meanwhile, only 22% of employees use AI tools daily, while nearly half—48%—use them just a few times per week. Workday advised: "For Korean companies to generate tangible results from AI adoption, they need strategies that go beyond simple technology implementation—modernizing job structures and reinvesting time saved by AI into talent development."