Tech Workers Burdened by Busywork

More than a third of tech and knowledge workers spend 25–50% of their workday on “work about work”—the status checks, stakeholder meetings, updates and approvals that surround productive work hours. It’s a “hidden tax,” draining time, focus and energy, according to a new report and survey from University of Maryland researchers in coordination with the firms Steady and AlphaROC.

The findings will be presented Thursday as the centerpiece of a daylong hybrid summit held at the Adele H. Stamp Student Union aimed at confronting the inefficiency of modern work.

The landmark national survey conducted by the data science company AlphaROC captured responses from over 1,000 verified technology workers, team leaders and managers nationwide. The findings shine a light on a coordination crisis that is draining productivity, fueling burnout, and threatening innovation and customer retention—while pointing to actionable solutions powered by artificial intelligence.

"For years, we've focused on scaling innovation—now we must turn our attention to scaling coordination," said Professional Programs Manager John Johnson, faculty member at UMD’s A. James Clark School of Engineering and co-creator of the summit. "This survey gives us an unprecedented, data-driven look into how much time and talent is being lost, and it lays the foundation for a new field of study and practice around coordination design."

One key survey question asked: “How much of your workweek do you believe is spent on 'work about work' instead of doing the work?” According to the eye-opening results, just under 14% said they spent 10% of their time this way, while 14.6% reported spending over half the week on busywork. Roughly equal proportions—about 36%—said they spent either 25-50% of their time or 10-25% of their time this way.

The economic implications are staggering, the researchers said. Based on productivity loss alone, previous studies indicate this growing inefficiency represents an estimated $1.2 trillion hit on the U.S. economy.

"We’re living through a coordination crisis that’s hiding in plain sight," said Henry Poydar, founder and CEO of Steady, a startup that has developed a workplace coordination app. "This summit is about acknowledging that most teams aren't just misaligned—they’re drowning in friction. People are struggling for context to get work done. It's leading to burnout, disengagement and ultimately, unhappy customers.”

Beyond coordination friction, the survey explored deeper themes critical to the future of work, including the adoption of AI. It found that while most tech workers are optimistic that new, AI-based technology can help make work more efficient, 41% are concerned about AI’s impact on reducing human decision-making, while 35.5% raised ethical concerns about fairness, surveillance and bias.

And strikingly, the researchers said, nearly 29% of respondents cited lack of leadership communication and accountability as the root cause of coordination failures.

This article was adapted from a press release from the Clark School, Steady and AlphaROC.