Топ-менеджеры уверяют, что ИИ снижает нагрузку — сотрудники работают до 90 часов в неделю

Top executives claim AI reduces workload — employees work up to 90 hours a week

Senior managers at technology companies are publicly stating that artificial intelligence is reducing workloads. A BBC News investigation has documented a gap — employees at those same companies report that the working week frequently reaches 90 hours, more than double the standard.

What executives promise

Leaders of major tech companies are actively promoting the narrative of AI as a tool that frees people from routine. In corporate reports and industry conferences, a consistent thesis is voiced: AI takes on repetitive tasks — from writing code to drafting business letters and analysing data — allowing specialists to switch to strategic and creative work.

As BBC

News reports, the official position of tech company management comes down to AI being designed to "free employees for higher-order work".

The executives' key argument: growth in personal productivity at the same or even lower level of engagement. This image — less routine, more value — is becoming central to communications with investors, boards of directors, and regulators.

What employees say

Employees of technology companies describe a fundamentally different picture. According to BBC News, industry representatives report working weeks that frequently reach 90 hours — more than double the standard 40 hours.

• Working weeks of up to 90 hours — the figure cited by tech company employees interviewed by BBC
• The introduction of AI tools has coincided with rising expectations, not a reduction in workload
• A specialist who completes a task twice as fast typically receives twice as many tasks
• Work-life balance has worsened despite the declared "freedom from routine"
• The gap between CEO rhetoric and reality is documented by both BBC journalists and independent researchers

This phenomenon is called the "productivity paradox". Every wave of automation — from the steam engine to spreadsheets — has increased productivity but has not reduced total working hours: those hours have been filled with new tasks and higher standards. The AI wave, it seems, follows the same logic.

Why is the gap so large?

The gap between management's position and employees' experience is explained by a difference in incentives. Executives assess AI through corporate metrics: product delivery speed, reduction of operating costs, revenue growth. If AI allows a team of 10 to do what previously required 15 — for the P&L line that is a success, not a reason to cut headcount or hours.

For an employee, the same situation looks fundamentally different: team headcount has not decreased, but the bar of expectations has risen. Tools that were supposed to ease the workload have become a justification for higher output norms. According to a number of studies, when AI tools increase developer productivity by 20–30%, companies first use that gain to expand the volume of tasks rather than to reduce the burden on people.

What this means

Reducing working hours is not a technological consequence of AI — it is a management decision. As long as companies perceive productivity gains as an opportunity to take on more tasks for the same money, the promise of AI to "free up people's time" will remain investor rhetoric. A 90-hour working week is vivid evidence of how far words and reality have diverged today in technology companies.