All posts tagged: workplaces

AI Is Turning Workplaces Into Hopeless Gridlock

CEOs have eagerly grabbed onto AI as a tool to make offices more efficient, and often to reduce headcount via brutal layoffs. There’s a problem, though: the workers who remain often say they now have to fix a flood of error-ridden AI-generated “workslop” that’s burdening them, paradoxically, with more work than ever. All this pointless busywork to correct AI-generated output results in hidden costs for companies that embrace the tech, according to The Guardian. One recent survey of 1,150 desk jockeys found that the 40 percent had encountered workslop — defined as “AI-generated content that looks good, but lacks substance” — in the course of their duties, forcing them to waste 3.4 hours per month dealing with it. At scale, that’s significant: all those hours wasted tally up to an estimated $8.1 million of lost productivity for a workplace with 10,000 workers. The hypothesis is supported by previous research that found that computer programmers become slower when using AI. A widely-cited MIT study found that 95 percent companies that deployed AI don’t see any added …

Researchers Studied What Happens When Workplaces Seriously Embrace AI, and the Results May Make You Nervous

Published by José Betancourt

Illustration by Tag Hartman-Simkins / Futurism. Source: Getty Images Even if AI is — or eventually becomes — an incredible automation tool, will it make workers’ lives easier? That’s the big question explored in an ongoing study by researchers from UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. And so far, it’s not looking good for the rank and file. In a piece for Harvard Business Review, the research team’s Aruna Ranganathan and Xinqi Maggie Ye reported that after closely monitoring a tech company with two hundred employees for eight months, they found that AI actually intensified the work they had to do, instead of reducing it. This “workload creep,” in which the employees took on more tasks than what was sustainable for them to keep doing, can create vicious cycle that leads to fatigue, burnout, and lower quality work. “You had thought that maybe, oh, because you could be more productive with AI, then you save some time, you can work less,” one of the employees told the researchers. “But then really, you don’t work less. …

2025 Certified Best Christian Workplaces

Published by Sam Flores

MERCER ISLAND, Wash. — Today, Best Christian Workplaces honors 310 faith-based organizations and Christian-owned businesses as Certified Best Christian Workplaces in 2025. These Certified Best Christian Workplaces represent a variety of Christian organizations, including churches, parachurch ministries, mission organizations, Christian-owned businesses, Christian schools, and universities. Certified Best Christian Workplaces are spread across the United States, Canada, and 15 countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America, Europe, and Oceania. On a 5-point scale, certified organizations score at 4.0 and above on Best Christian Workplaces’ Employee Engagement Survey, which is based on rigorous research reflecting more than 20 years of experience. There has been a significant increase in the number of Certified Best Christian Workplaces over the last five years, from 208 in 2021 to 310 in 2025. This year, a higher proportion of Certified workplaces are in the “Flourishing” range with Employee Engagement scores of 4.25 and above. Jay Bransford, President and CEO of Best Christian Workplaces, reflects on the importance of healthy workplaces: “I commend each of the leaders on this year’s list of Certified Best …

Maine clergy form spiritual ‘shield’ outside workplaces to protect immigrants from ICE

Published by Sam Flores

(RNS) — For the past week or so, every morning at around 7:15, the Rev. Jane Field, a Presbyterian Church (USA) minister and executive director of the Maine Council of Churches, drives out to a business in the greater Portland area. Once there, she and several of her fellow clergy — usually around two dozen — line up along the street near the exit to the business. The goal, she said, is to form a visual and spiritual “shield” between the employees leaving their shift — the majority of whom are immigrants — and Department of Homeland Security agents who have surged into the state. The rotating band of clergy has gotten used to staring down agents during what has become a twice-daily ritual, she said, with officials often driving by or sometimes lingering in the parking lot. “ICE has been there almost every time,” Field said. It’s part of the faith-led efforts in Maine to resist “Operation Catch of the Day,” the latest in President Donald Trump’s series of mass deportation campaigns launched in …

Whats Most Workplaces Get Wrong About Pet Loss

Published by Jenni Sidey

In a company I’m familiar with, Betty, a well-regarded veteran employee, didn’t come into work one day and didn’t notify her manager regarding her absence. At the time, Betty’s team was experiencing a seasonal high workload and her absence was felt by all. When her manager called to find out if anything was wrong, Betty answered, sounding very upset. While quietly sobbing, she explained to her manager in a broken voice that her beloved cat had died over the weekend and that she was currently emotionally incapable of returning to work. When Betty did return, a full week later, she was obviously still in much emotional pain, and her performance and productivity were far from their normal high levels. Betty’s manager never had a pet and found it hard to conceal their frustration with the additional workload Betty’s absence had created. On her return, she was met with awkward silence and quiet dismissal, other than her manager remarking that “well, it was just a cat.” For millions of people, a pet isn’t “just” anything. Pets …

Women tend to downplay their gender in workplaces with masculinity contest cultures

Published by José Betancourt

A new study published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology has found that workplace cultures focused on ruthless competition and dominance can cause women to distance themselves from their gender group. The findings suggest that when organizational norms glorify masculine traits, women tend to feel that their social identity is less valued. As a coping mechanism, they may hide or downplay their gender to fit in. The authors of the new study aimed to understand why women in male-dominated fields often manage their identity by disassociating from other women. To do this, they focused on a concept known as “masculinity contest culture.” This term describes organizational environments that prize dog-eat-dog competition, physical or emotional toughness, and a refusal to show vulnerability. In these settings, traits typically associated with masculinity are treated as the standard for success. “This study was motivated by a gap in how researchers understand subtle forms of workplace bias beyond overt discrimination. While prior work has shown that women sometimes distance themselves from other women after experiencing direct gender discrimination, we …

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