The overview
AI was supposed to bury busywork. Instead, routine admin tasks still dominate the workday, draining performance and stunting growth across every organization. The Admin Burden Index surveyed 5,000 UK and US office workers to reveal the scale of the problem.
Admin is creating a $954 billion Invisible Overhead that never appears on balance sheets. It’s silently driving a Turnover Tax as almost half the workforce considers walking away, yet AI tools sit unused or underutilized. This is widening the Performance Deficit as employees lack what they need to do their best work. This report reveals the data behind the drain and the strategies to fix it.
The insights
The Invisible Overhead: Routine admin drains 5.6 hours per employee every week, with email topping the list as the #1 time-waster. Admin is costing your business an average of $17,000 per office worker each year without improving output.
The Turnover Tax: Admin overwhelm has pushed 48% of the workforce to consider leaving their role, frustrated they can't focus on what they were hired to do. High earners and younger generations are closest to the exit. If admin volume remains unaddressed, the talent drain will accelerate.
The Performance Deficit: Employees want AI to lighten the load. But 2 in 3 say the AI tools they have are partial, ineffective, or insufficient. The gap between what employees could achieve with AI and what they're delivering today represents potential most employers aren't tapping into.
