Workslop is the new busywork. And it’s costing millions.
Research from BetterUp Labs and Stanford Social Media Lab uncovers how AI-generated “slop” masquerades as productivity.
Workslop is AI’s hidden tax on productivity.
Employees spend nearly 2 hours per instance cleaning up AI workslop — a drag worth $186 per person each month, or $9 million a year for a 10K-employee organization.
40%
received workslop
last month
$186
per person
each month
~1h 51m
Spent fixing
workslop content
$9M
Per year for a
10k organization
Workslop doesn't just waste time, it breaks trust.
Over half of employees see senders as less creative, capable, and trustworthy after receiving it.

Individuals: feel frustrated, confused and disengaged.

Teams: waste cycles, duplicate efforts, and lose trust.

Organizations: lose time, are misled by false productivity and experience stalled AI adoption.
Receiving workslop negatively impacts our relationships and changes perceptions of colleagues.
How did receiving this work change your perception of your colleague?
creative
capable
reliable
Trustworthy
Intelligent

0%
25%
50%
75%
100%

I saw them as...
Less
The same
More
Managers are the antidote to workslop.
The biggest lever against AI waste isn't technology — it's leadership. Clear guardrails, context, and coaching rebuild trust and collaboration.
50%
managers
34%
org culture
16%
coworkers
Coaching builds the mindsets that beat workslop.
BetterUp research shows "Pilot" employees — those high in agency and optimism — use AI to enhance creativity, not replace it. Coaching drives this mindset, fueling performance, innovation, and retention.
Team innovation
Team performance
Team agility
Direct report
productivity
-52%
-54%
+90%
+50%
+20%
+15%
Direct report burnout
Lower turnover intention
for direct reports