You've probably opened your inbox on a Monday morning to find a three-paragraph email about something that could've been one sentence. You read it twice. You still don't know what your colleague actually wants you to do.
That email took them thirty seconds to generate with AI. It's now taking you ten minutes to decode. Welcome to workslop — 2025's Word of the Year, and a problem that's costing organizations far more than they realize.
What Exactly Is Workslop?
Researchers from Stanford and BetterUp have given this phenomenon a precise definition: workslop is AI-generated work content that masquerades as good work but lacks the substance to meaningfully advance a given task.
The name derives from 'slop' — the term for low-quality AI-generated content flooding the internet. But workslop isn't random spam. It's the polished-looking reports, emails, and presentations your colleagues create thinking they're being helpful — documents that look productive but say nothing useful.
Here's the uncomfortable scale of this problem: According to Stanford and BetterUp's survey of over 1,100 full-time workers, 40% say they've received workslop in just the last month. Workers estimated that about 15% of all content they receive qualifies as low-effort, AI-generated padding. That means roughly one in every six or seven things landing in your queue might be content created by AI, sent without thought, adding work rather than completing it.
The Nine Million Dollar Productivity Tax
The financial impact is staggering. On average, workers spend nearly two hours — one hour and fifty-six minutes — dealing with the aftermath of each workslop incident. Two hours deciphering what someone meant, clarifying what they actually need, or redoing work that should have been done right the first time.
When you run the numbers based on workers' self-reported salaries, each workslop incident creates roughly a $186 invisible tax per person per month. For a company with 10,000 employees, that adds up to approximately $9 million in lost productivity every single year.
But the financial cost might not even be the worst part. The research uncovered something potentially more damaging: what workslop does to professional relationships. Roughly half of workers surveyed said they view their coworkers as less creative, less capable, and less reliable after receiving workslop from them. Half your team could be thinking less of a colleague right now — not because of their actual abilities, but because of how they're using AI tools.
Why Smart People Create Workslop
Harvard Business Review analyzed this problem and found several psychological drivers. First, there's the pressure to appear productive, especially when working remotely. When you can't be seen working, you might feel the need to prove you're working — and AI makes it easy to produce visible output fast.
Second, people genuinely believe they're helping. They think more content equals more value. They're trying to be thorough when brevity would serve everyone better.
Third, there's a skill gap. People know how to use AI to generate content, but they don't know how to edit it down to what's actually useful.
And here's where the problem compounds: only about one in three workers actually notify their teammates when they receive confusing AI-generated work. The other two-thirds stay silent, absorb the extra work, fix the problems themselves, and never tell the sender there was an issue. This creates a feedback loop where workslop creators never learn their output is causing problems.
Breaking the Workslop Cycle
So what can you actually do about this? Let's get practical.
Before sending any AI-generated content, ask yourself: Does this actually move the project forward, or am I just creating the appearance of work? Be honest. If you're sending something primarily to show you're working rather than to accomplish something specific, reconsider hitting send.
Try the two-hour test. If your AI output would take a colleague more than a few minutes to process, it needs revision — preferably significant revision.
Use AI to draft, but always edit for conciseness. Shorter is almost always better. Cut everything that isn't essential. The best AI users treat generated content as a rough draft, never as a finished product. They spend more time editing than generating.
On the receiving end, provide direct feedback. I know it feels awkward. But remember — two-thirds of people stay silent, and that's why workslop keeps happening. You don't have to be harsh. A simple "Hey, I wasn't sure what you were asking for — could you clarify?" opens the conversation without blame.
For teams, establish shared norms. When is AI appropriate? What quality bar must content meet before it's sent? Some teams are implementing 'AI disclosure' practices — noting when content was AI-assisted so recipients know to read with appropriate expectations.
The Real Promise of AI at Work
The Marketing AI Institute summarized the core tension well: AI efficiency gains become productivity losses when individuals optimize for themselves at the expense of the group. It's a classic tragedy of the commons. Each person saving time with AI feels like a win. But collectively, we're spending more time than ever untangling the results.
The irony is that AI could make work genuinely better — fewer tedious tasks, more time for meaningful collaboration. But only if we use it thoughtfully.
Here's your challenge this week: Before you send your next AI-generated email or document, pause. Read it as if you're the person receiving it. Ask yourself: Would I be annoyed if I got this? Is it clear what I'm asking? Is there anything here that doesn't need to be?
Use AI as a starting point, not an ending point. Edit ruthlessly. Respect your colleagues' time. And if someone sends you workslop, tell them — kindly, but clearly. Your professional reputation, and roughly $9 million of your company's productivity, might depend on it.
