Is AI Causing Structural Tension in the Workplace?

As AI usage increases in the workplace there is an assumption that the technology is increasing productivity and reducing workloads. 

Data from ActivTrak’s 2026 State of the Workplace report challenges that assumption. 

According to the study – which looked at 1,111 businesses and 163,638 employees across three years – finds that employees are less focused and feeling under-challenged. 

ActivTrak suggests that the level to which AI has changed the workplace has led to an operating model that businesses are unprepared for.

The report says that many organisations are lacking “clear visibility into how those changes actually impact productivity, focus and workforce capacity”.

Employee wellbeing and productivity is changing

According to ActiveTrak, 75% of employees are maintaining healthy work patterns, and burnout risk has fallen from 22% to 5%. 

But while employees may not be feeling as burnt out, many are feeling less challenged as a result of AI. 

As AI increases the level of work employees can manage, many roles are not being effectively reworked. 

Mark Dixon, CEO of International Workplace Group, has previously said that he believes employers will prioritise productivity from employees, telling Fortune: “AI will speed up companies’ development, so there’ll be more work, it’ll just be different work.”

This ‘different work’ has been measured by ActivTrack, with the research finding that the number of employees at risk of disengagement has risen to 23%, with freed-up capacity not being redirected towards high-value work.

ActiveTrak suggests that employee disengagement is “the next workforce crisis” – with employee efficiency often tied to the competitive outcomes of an organisation. 

It recommends that businesses invest in employee redeployment by ensuring employees are being given high value work, as this will give these organisations a “meaningful advantage” in long-term business performance. 

Developing a strategy to manage employee focus

Over the course of three years, the length of the average uninterrupted focused work session fell by 9%. 

Focus efficiency has also fallen to 60%, with collaboration rising to 34% and multitasking increasing to 12%.

While the research finds that employee productivity is increasing alongside these numbers, it does suggest that employees’ attention is becoming fragmented, which could impact long-term performance. 

This pattern is being seen across organisations, with research from Microsoft finding that 48% of employees are reporting that their work feels chaotic and fragmented, while Qualtrics finds that 38% report that they are feeling pressure from their employer to increase productivity.

Closing the AI Measurement Gap

To combat the impact of AI on employee engagement and focus levels, ActivTrack recommends that employers need to improve their ability to track how AI is changing work. 

According to the study, an ‘AI Measurement Gap’ is forming – a term signifying the gap between AI adoption and an organisation’s ability to measure its impact on workforce performance. 

In order to close this gap, the report suggests that employers need to build an understanding of what tools employees are using and to what intensity they use them. 

This allows organisations to ensure they have the visibility and operating discipline to best manage a changing workforce, and ensure employees are aligned with key business outcomes.