Businesses are wasting over $800 billion on admin that could be done by AI: study
A recent study has found that administrative tasks that could be automated by AI tools are costing US businesses over $818 billion a year in lost staff time.
The study surveyed 3,000 American office workers and discovered that those handling admin tasks, such as drafting emails, taking notes, and preparing reports, estimate they waste an average of more than five and a half hours per week manually completing routine work.
With the average salary of office workers polled being $115,779, this translates to a staggering $3 billion lost each working day.
The research identified drafting emails as the most time-consuming task, cited by 34% of workers, followed by reading emails (31%), updating data in spreadsheets (19%), and preparing reports (14%).
Other tasks such as researching information online (17%) and analyzing data (17%) were also noted as particularly time-consuming.
As a result, 46% of respondents feel overwhelmed by the amount of admin work required in their role, with 50% considering leaving their job due to this burden.
Although automation tools are becoming more available, 43% of respondents feel they could benefit from more AI assistance, while 33% rarely or never use any tools to support their role.
The study was commissioned by Fyxer as part of its Admin Burden Index, aiming to shed light on the productivity cost of routine tasks and how this hidden drain could impede business growth.
Rich Hollingsworth, CEO and co-founder of the email assistant, emphasized the impact of admin tasks on modern work environments, stating, “An extra 10 minutes here, an hour there, spread across hundreds or thousands of employees, quickly compounds into massive costs.”
He added, “AI is ready and able to lift this burden, and workers are eager to accept the help. But they’re not seeing the tools they’re given actually rise to the challenge.”‘
The study also revealed that 37% of respondents who feel overwhelmed by daily admin tasks believe it takes time away from their main responsibilities.
Furthermore, 55% of respondents have seen their workload increase over the past year, with 30% of this increase attributed to admin-related tasks.
On average, respondents reported working nearly an extra hour beyond their contracted hours, with 11% working overtime every day.
The research, conducted by OnePoll, also highlighted the volume of email activity, with workers receiving an average of 48 emails per day and sending 36 in return.
Additionally, data from Fyxer’s platform shows that 40% of email activity occurs outside of working hours, with writing and responding to emails consuming nearly two hours of the average workday.
Rich concluded by highlighting the negative impact of menial admin tasks on workers, stating, “Saddling workers with tasks that add little value kills focus, morale, and revenue.”
He emphasized the need for businesses to address this issue and leverage AI tools effectively to alleviate the burden on employees.
Top 10 Admin Tasks Which Waste the Most Time:
- Writing or replying to emails
- Reading emails
- Researching information online
- Organising files/documents
- Analysing or summarising data
- Preparing reports
- Entering or updating data in spreadsheets or systems
- Managing to-do lists or task reminders
- Scheduling meetings or managing diaries
- Tracking project progress or deadlines
