AI doing 75 per cent of office tasks, but employees have to work 5x more: Founder explains how automation increases workload
Artificial Intelligence has been making waves in workplaces for years, promising to automate repetitive tasks and give employees more free time. But according to Andrew Yeung, the US-based founder of Fibe, that isn’t how it’s playing out in real life. In a recent post on X, Yeung shared insights from a senior co-worker at a big tech company, explaining that AI has automated roughly 75% of their daily tasks. That includes things like slides, spreadsheets, project management, analysis, and coordination.
However, Yeung notes that this hasn’t translated into more downtime for employees. “It’s taken away all the execution… but that doesn’t mean they have more free time. In fact they have MORE work,” he wrote. The catch, it seems, is that as execution becomes faster and easier, expectations just expand to fill the new capacity. “Everyone on the team is now expected to output 5x,” he added.
The Shift from Execution to Strategy
Several professionals who responded to Yeung’s post highlighted the human cost of this shift. One comment read, “We’ve moved from 'Execution-Heavy' to 'Strategy-Heavy' and everyone is drowning. If you can automate 75% of your day but still have 'More Work,' did you actually save time or just liquidate your Mental Bandwidth?”
Another user pointed out the hidden expectation trap: “AI removes execution, so expectations expand to fill the gap. If you can produce 5x, leadership starts planning around 5x. The bottleneck moves from ‘doing the work’ to ‘deciding what work is worth doing.’ Output goes up. Pressure goes up faster.”
Some commenters were more cynical about corporate priorities. “Because end of the day it's management and shareholders who dictate what is enough work and isn't enough. They don't see an easier work life balance. They see a lemon they can squeeze more juice out of. That's what's taught to MBA types,” said one professional. Another added, “The company won't do 5x. Just because engg team is free, we end up creating new products? No. We have to market too. Not everything will run at 'tool speed'.”
AI Shifts the Pressure, It Doesn’t Remove It
A recurring theme in the discussion is that AI changes the nature of work rather than lightening it. “Technology doesn’t remove pressure; it shifts it. Less manual work often means more responsibility and higher output demands,” one user wrote. Another observed, “Execution becoming cheap means strategy and judgment become the job. That is a harder job than most people were prepared for.”
Some saw a small silver lining, noting that AI can free humans for more meaningful or creative tasks. “AI frees execution so you can do 5x more meaningful stuff. I’m leaning into that shift. Building faster every day. No complaints here,” said one participant.
However, Yeung notes that this hasn’t translated into more downtime for employees. “It’s taken away all the execution… but that doesn’t mean they have more free time. In fact they have MORE work,” he wrote. The catch, it seems, is that as execution becomes faster and easier, expectations just expand to fill the new capacity. “Everyone on the team is now expected to output 5x,” he added.
The Shift from Execution to Strategy
Several professionals who responded to Yeung’s post highlighted the human cost of this shift. One comment read, “We’ve moved from 'Execution-Heavy' to 'Strategy-Heavy' and everyone is drowning. If you can automate 75% of your day but still have 'More Work,' did you actually save time or just liquidate your Mental Bandwidth?”
Another user pointed out the hidden expectation trap: “AI removes execution, so expectations expand to fill the gap. If you can produce 5x, leadership starts planning around 5x. The bottleneck moves from ‘doing the work’ to ‘deciding what work is worth doing.’ Output goes up. Pressure goes up faster.”
Some commenters were more cynical about corporate priorities. “Because end of the day it's management and shareholders who dictate what is enough work and isn't enough. They don't see an easier work life balance. They see a lemon they can squeeze more juice out of. That's what's taught to MBA types,” said one professional. Another added, “The company won't do 5x. Just because engg team is free, we end up creating new products? No. We have to market too. Not everything will run at 'tool speed'.”
AI Shifts the Pressure, It Doesn’t Remove It
A recurring theme in the discussion is that AI changes the nature of work rather than lightening it. “Technology doesn’t remove pressure; it shifts it. Less manual work often means more responsibility and higher output demands,” one user wrote. Another observed, “Execution becoming cheap means strategy and judgment become the job. That is a harder job than most people were prepared for.”
Some saw a small silver lining, noting that AI can free humans for more meaningful or creative tasks. “AI frees execution so you can do 5x more meaningful stuff. I’m leaning into that shift. Building faster every day. No complaints here,” said one participant.
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