New Workday Research: Companies Are Leaving AI Gains on the Table
New Workday Research: Companies Are Leaving AI Gains on the Table |
| [14-January-2026] |
Nearly 40% of AI Time Savings Are Lost to Fixing Low-Quality Output Global Research Shows AI Delivers Greater ROI When Leaders Invest in Both People and Technology PLEASANTON, Calif., Jan. 14, 2026/PRNewswire/ -- Workday, Inc (NASDAQ: WDAY) today released new global research showing that while AI is delivering productivity gains, many organizations aren't fully capturing its value. Employees are saving meaningful time with AI tools, but too often those gains are being absorbed by rework – fixing mistakes, rewriting content, and double-checking outputs from generic tools – leaving significant value on the table.
The report, "Beyond Productivity: Measuring the Real Value of AI," reveals what separates leaders from laggards: the most successful organizations don't just deploy AI – they reinvest the time it saves into their people. By building skills, redesigning roles, and modernizing how work gets done, these companies turn speed into sustained business impact. "Too many AI tools push the hard questions of trust, accuracy, and repeatability back onto individual users," said Gerrit Kazmaier, president, product and technology, Workday. "At Workday, we've spent years delivering AI as simple, human‑centered solutions – not raw technology – so customers aren't left to wire things together and fact‑check every answer on their own. Our philosophy is that AI should do the complex work under the hood so people can focus on judgment, creativity, and connection. That's how organizations turn AI‑powered speed into durable, human‑led advantage." The AI Productivity Paradox AI is delivering meaningful time savings, but that speed doesn't always translate into better outcomes. While 85% of employees report saving one to seven hours per week using AI, much of that time is offset by rework on low‑quality AI‑generated content – creating a false sense of productivity and ROI. AI is doing its part by increasing capacity – but too often, roles, skills, and processes haven't evolved to turn that capacity into consistently better results. Key findings include:
Reinvesting AI Gains Into the Workforce Most organizations agree AI gains should benefit employees – but today, reinvestment still skews elsewhere. Companies are more likely to put AI savings back into technology (39%) than into employee development (30%). And instead of using time saved to build skills, many simply increase workload (32%) – leaving employees to navigate AI on their own. But the organizations seeing real returns are making a different choice. Employees with positive AI outcomes are far more likely to use saved time to increase the value of their work – through things like deeper analysis, stronger decision-making, and strategic thinking (57%) – rather than just taking on more tasks. They're also far more likely to have had increased skills training (79%). The organizations realizing the greatest value from AI treat saved time as a strategic resource. They reinvest in upskilling their teams, improving collaboration, and strengthening judgment-driven work. The biggest opportunity is helping employees learn how to use AI effectively – especially in areas that require judgement, creativity, and decision-making. The research makes one thing clear: reinvesting in people is the fastest way to reduce rework, improve outcomes, and turn AI speed into lasting business value. For additional information
About the Report About Workday © 2026 Workday, Inc. All rights reserved. Workday and the Workday logo are registered trademarks of Workday, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Forward-Looking Statements
SOURCE Workday Inc. | ||
Company Codes: NASDAQ-NMS:WDAY,NASDAQ:WDAY |
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