• Organizations report net time savings per employee from AI tools, even after time spent reworking AI output.
  • Workday’s report suggests AI is shifting time from routine tasks to higher-value work, but accuracy and governance remain concerns.
  • Companies must invest in training, oversight and workflow redesign to capture promised productivity gains.

Workday report: AI helps employees reclaim time despite rework

Summary

A recent report from Workday finds that organizations are seeing net time savings per employee from using AI tools, even though workers need to spend time correcting or reworking some AI outputs. The research indicates that AI is already changing day-to-day workflows by automating routine tasks, but the gains come with trade-offs in accuracy, oversight and new skill requirements.

Net time savings despite rework

Workday’s findings suggest that, on balance, employees are reclaiming hours previously spent on administrative or repetitive work. While the report notes that users must often verify, edit or fully rework AI-generated content, those additional steps typically do not erase the overall time saved. In practice, organizations report redeploying that recovered time to more strategic, creative or client-facing activities.

What this means for businesses

For leaders, the report carries both encouragement and warning. The upside is clear: AI can reduce the burden of routine tasks across finance, HR, customer service and other functions. The downside is that realizing consistent gains requires governance frameworks, quality checks and staff training. Without those, time savings may be uneven and risks — such as inaccurate outputs or compliance gaps — can increase.

Operational and workforce implications

Companies that capture the full benefit of AI tend to pair tools with updated workflows and role expectations. That includes defining which outputs must be human-reviewed, investing in digital literacy so employees can use prompts and AI features effectively, and measuring outcomes beyond surface-level metrics. Workday’s report highlights that organizations that take these steps are better positioned to convert reclaimed hours into higher-value work and measurable business impact.

Risks and recommended actions

Workday emphasizes the need for:

  • Clear governance and approval processes for AI-generated content;
  • Training programs to raise staff competence with AI tools and prompt design;
  • Performance metrics that account for both time savings and quality of output;
  • Ongoing monitoring to catch errors, bias or compliance issues early.

Adoption without these safeguards can lead to wasted time correcting poor outputs, diminished trust in AI tools, or exposure to regulatory and reputational risk.

Takeaway

Workday’s report presents a pragmatic picture: AI can and does reclaim employee time, but organizations must invest in people, processes and oversight to realize consistent benefits. For companies pondering their next steps, the choice is increasingly between proactive adoption with governance — and falling behind competitors that capture productivity gains now.

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