Can We Be Too Productive?
An HR Consultant’s Take on AI, Attention, and the Pace of Work
Lately, I’ve found myself thinking a lot about the pace of work. Not just how fast we’re moving, but why we’re moving so fast, and what we’re potentially losing in the process.
Generative artificial intelligence is one of the most powerful workplace tools that we’ve seen in decades, and there’s no denying its value. Different AI platforms can help teams write faster, make quicker decisions, and complete tasks in minutes, instead of hours. I’ve seen firsthand how tools like ChatGPT and Copilot are reshaping how we approach everything in both our professional and personal lives. (If you haven’t tried using ChatGPT to build a meal plan for a family of picky eaters, or to function as a trainer to help you upskill your child’s reading skills, I highly recommend it.)
And yet, with all this acceleration, I can’t help but wonder: Is there such a thing as too much productivity?
The Paradox of Efficiency
A 2024 McKinsey report found that 65% of businesses are using AI in at least one function, and many are already seeing tangible gains in productivity. But I’ve also spoken with exhausted managers and anxious employees who, despite “saving time” with automation, feel more scattered, not less.
Harvard Business Review put words to this feeling when they called it the productivity paradox of AI: we’re doing more, faster, but at a cost to clarity and calm. The time saved by AI isn’t necessarily going back into strategic thinking, deep work, or even rest. More often, it’s just filled with more work.
Are We Meant to Move This Fast?
Was the human brain built for the kind of multitasking AI enables? Stanford University researchers have shown that constant task-switching dulls our cognitive abilities, making us more reactive and less reflective. The American Psychological Association has warned that multitasking can lower a worker’s productivity by up to 40%.
That statistic stopped me in my tracks. We’ve created systems that expect us to work at the pace of the tools we use. But just because AI can juggle five tasks at a time doesn’t mean we should.
HR’s Role in Rebalancing the Equation
What’s clear to me is this: AI isn’t the problem. The real issue is what we do with the capacity it creates. There is a unique opportunity for HR to help shape the future of work, not just by rolling out new tools, but by asking: What kind of work do we want to create space for?
Here are a few questions I’ve been sitting with in client conversations:
- Are our productivity metrics still relevant in an AI-assisted workplace?
- Are we valuing depth and focus—or just speed and volume?
- Are employees empowered to slow down and think, or expected to fill every moment?
Some of the best work I’ve seen this year has come from teams that chose to pause, in order to rethink workflows, reset expectations, and reclaim space for high-impact work. That kind of clarity doesn’t come from software. It comes from leadership.
Final Thoughts: Let’s Be Thoughtful About Our Tools
Don’t get me wrong: I’m pro-AI, and it’s incorporated in workflows that I follow every day. But I’m questioning whether the claims of increased productivity through AI are wholly beneficial. Our consideration of the utility and power of AI can’t be that simplistic. Not when it risks costing us our focus, our well-being, or our ability to think long-term.
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