I’ll admit it—I’ve probably been guilty of some “workslop” myself. I’ve hit “generate,” glanced at the result, and realized halfway through a second read that what I was about to send was basically garbage. I ended up having to do the whole thing over anyway.
AI is great for a lot of things, but we’ve all been on the receiving end: an email or a project update that looks perfect at a glance—crisp bullet points, professional tone—but says absolutely nothing. It’s hollow. It’s “technically” finished but practically useless.
Welcome to AI-Generated Workslop. According to a recent HBR IdeaCast, this isn’t just a minor annoyance. It’s a productivity killer that is quietly eroding the foundations of our professional relationships.
The High Cost of “Fast”
The appeal of AI is obvious: hit a button, save an hour. But as Kate Niederhoffer and Jeff Hancock point out in their HBR research, that “saved” hour for the sender often creates a two-hour tax for the recipient who has to fix the slop.
Also, you might be taking too many deposits out of your “trust bank.” Their research shows that when you pass off low-effort AI content as finished work, your colleagues are significantly more likely to view you as less capable, less trustworthy, and—honestly—less intelligent.
It’s a steep price to pay for a shortcut. If the phrase “Hey, did you just put this into ChatGPT?” sounds familiar; you’ve already hit that wall.
It’s Management’s fault!
Management pays and expects people to use the tools….and we end up with workslop
- The “AI Everywhere” Mandate: Leaders telling teams to “just use AI” without giving them a “why” or a “how.”
- Performance Pressure: When the metric is more rather than better, employees use AI as a desperate survival mechanism just to stay afloat.
- Zero Training: Expecting people to become prompt engineers overnight without any clear organizational guardrails.
3 Ways to Clean Up the Slop
To stop the spread, we have to change how we view the tool:
1. Be a “Pilot,” Not a “Passenger”
AI is a tool, not the end itself. Passengers give a lazy prompt and let the AI drive the entire car into a ditch. Pilots stay in control; they are the ones actually flying the AI plane, using it for navigation while they handle the takeoff and landing.
2. Implement the “Human-in-the-Loop” Standard
The rule should be simple: AI output is a draft, never a final product. Before hitting ‘Send’, every piece of content needs a human to verify facts, add context, and—most importantly—ensure it actually sounds like it came from a person who cares.
3. Reward Quality Over Velocity
If management only rewards the speed of completion, they’re going to get a mountain of slop. We need to foster a culture where it’s okay to say, “The AI couldn’t handle the nuance of this project, so I did it manually.”
Look, AI is brilliant but can be like a drunk intern: if you are not in control. It’s not the answer, but a great tool.
Note: AI helped me write this
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