British workers say they lose 2 days a…

British workers say they lose 2 days a week to tasks AI could already do


Britain’s workers say almost two days a week are lost to repetitive tasks that artificial intelligence could already handle.

This was found as part of new research commissioned by AI platform Cogna, which surveyed 500 frontline and operational workers.

It revealed that 39% of the average working week across sectors such as construction, logistics, manufacturing, and utilities is spent on manual work that could be automated or significantly improved through better technology.

This comes despite organisations investing an average of £13 million in digital transformation programmes over the past five years.

Ben Peters, CEO and founder of Cogna, said: “Digital transformation does not succeed in the boardroom; it succeeds when it changes the work people do every day.

“The fact that two-thirds of workers are creating their own workarounds shows that teams are not rejecting technology, they are showing leaders exactly where official systems need to go further.

“The next opportunity is to turn these unofficial fixes into secure, scalable tools that unlock the full value of transformation investments and drive meaningful productivity improvements.”

Nearly a third (29%) of frontline workers believe at least half of their week is wasted on manual tasks, according to the study.

However, only 22% of senior decision-makers share this view, highlighting a disconnect between management and staff.

In response to these inefficiencies, 65% of employees have developed “shadow IT” solutions—unofficial systems and processes such as spreadsheets, templates, personal messaging apps, and ad-hoc workflows—to bypass inadequate company technology.0:13 / 1:28

This gap between frontline experience and boardroom perception comes despite significant optimism among senior leaders.

Three-quarters (75%) believe productivity has improved over the past three years, with 89% attributing these gains to technology.

Meanwhile, 83% said those investments had either met or exceeded expectations.

Despite the optimism, workers identify slow approval processes (20%), poor communication (19%), and outdated systems (17%) as major barriers to productivity.

Martin Rimmer, chief people officer at Cadent Gas, stressed the importance of solutions tailored to real-life operations.

Mr Rimmer said: “In our experience, the best digital tools are the ones that solve a clear operational problem.

“When technology is designed around the way teams actually work, adoption becomes easier and the value is much clearer.

“That is especially important in physical industries, where small improvements to frontline workflows can have a significant impact on productivity, service and decision-making.”

Despite frustrations, frontline staff remain largely positive about artificial intelligence when it is applied effectively.

More than a third (34%) said AI or automation has already made parts of their job easier or faster.

One in four described AI’s overall impact as positive, compared to just 6% who regarded it as negative.

At a leadership level, AI adoption is accelerating across organisations.

Nearly half are using AI for data analytics and forecasting (47%) and cybersecurity (47%), while 42% use it in customer services and 41% in operations or production.

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Leaders are also feeling competitive pressure to move quickly.

Almost four in five (79%) worry that competitors are advancing faster with AI adoption.

Nearly all leaders surveyed (95%) said that customer and public expectations are influencing their digital transformation strategies.

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However, cost remains a significant barrier, with 41% citing it as the biggest obstacle preventing wider AI adoption.

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