Productivity Is Stuck—But AI Might Finally Set Us Free

Heidi Araya
Jul 21
3 min read

By Heidi Araya

"Most people die of a sort of creeping common sense, and discover when it is too late that the only things one never regrets are one's mistakes." —Oscar Wilde

Decades of Doing More with... Less Impact

I spent years working in medium and large organizations—often watching the same pattern unfold. Massive teams, endless meetings, complex tools, and still… very little that truly mattered to customers. Projects would launch with enthusiasm, only to die quietly months later. People were busy, but not effective.

This isn’t a failure of the people. It’s structural. And it's everywhere.

The Productivity Paradox

While digital tools have exploded over the past two decades, productivity has barely budged.

Labor productivity in OECD countries grew just 0.6% in 2023, continuing a decades-long trend of stagnation (OECD, 2024).
Gallup estimates $8.9 trillion in lost global GDP due to low employee engagement—nearly 9% of global output (Gallup, 2023).
Tools like Slack, Teams, and project management platforms promised efficiency, but in reality, 60% of a knowledge worker’s time is spent on “work about work”—meetings, searching for info, duplicative updates (Asana, 2023).

The modern workplace is overflowing with movement, but lacking momentum.

The Human Cost of Inefficiency

Beyond spreadsheets and dashboards lies a more sobering truth: this inefficiency crushes people.

I’ve seen brilliant employees spend their days in meetings that didn’t need to exist. I’ve seen teams demoralized by work that had no clear purpose. The result? Burnout, disengagement, and a creeping sense of futility.

People come to work full of potential—and leave wondering if they matter.

Enter AI: A Promise, Not a Panacea

Now we’re seeing something different.

AI—particularly generative AI—has begun to chip away at the stagnation. Not everywhere. Not perfectly. But the results are compelling:

A Stanford/MIT study showed that generative AI boosted call center productivity by 14%, especially among newer workers (Noy & Zhang, 2023).
Consultants using GPT-4 completed tasks 25% faster with 40% higher quality outcomes (Brynjolfsson et al., 2023).

These aren’t just speed gains—they represent real reallocation of human effort toward higher-value work.

So Why Isn’t This a Revolution Yet?

Because tech alone isn’t the solution. AI can automate tasks—but it can’t fix broken systems, bad incentives, or leadership fear.

We need to redesign workflows, not just plug AI into old ones. We need to rethink what work is for—not just how fast we can do it.

We need to stop asking “How do we protect jobs?” and start asking: “How do we unleash human potential?”

What About the Jobs?

I don’t believe we’re heading toward mass unemployment. But I do believe the concept of a “job” is shifting fast.

38% of U.S. workers freelanced in 2023, contributing $1.27 trillion to the economy (Upwork, 2024).
Long-term employment is less reliable, and our social systems—healthcare, retirement, training—are still tied to it.

We urgently need policy innovation:

Portable benefits for freelancers.
Reskilling credits for displaced workers.
Systems that reward adaptability, not just compliance.

From Waste to Worth: What We Can Build Instead

To me, productivity is not just about speed—it’s about purpose.

The goal isn’t to replace people. It’s to remove friction so that people can do the work that actually matters: The thinking, imagining, designing, healing, building, connecting, coaching—the stuff no spreadsheet will ever fully measure.

This shift won’t be painless. I’m still navigating it myself, daily.

But I believe the future of work can be more human, not less—if we let go of what no longer serves us.

What Comes Next

Ask yourself (or your leadership team):

Where are we burning time on work that doesn’t create customer value?
What would we automate if we trusted our people to reimagine their roles?
How are we preparing our workforce for a world where job titles matter less than outcomes?

This is our moment to redesign work—on purpose, with purpose.

Want to Dig Deeper?

Reach out. I’d love to hear how you're thinking about AI, work, and what comes next.