Half of Singapore employees surveyed spend at least an hour weekly reworking AI outputs, limiting productivity gains

• AI rework eats into productivity: Half of Singapore employees spend at least an hour weekly fixing AI outputs.
• Time reinvested boosts value: Organisations redirect saved time to training, upskilling, and strategic work.
• Managers and directors bear the load: Mid-level leaders handle most AI output validation, while employee trust in leadership remains high.

AI is becoming a common tool in Singapore workplaces, but the need to rework AI-generated outputs is limiting the productivity benefits organisations hope to achieve.

New research released by Workday shows that employees are increasingly relying on AI tools in their daily work. However, many are also spending significant time clarifying, correcting, or rewriting the outputs these tools produce.

The global study surveyed 3,200 respondents, including employees in Singapore. Snippets of the findings are as follows:

Reworking AI outputs takes time

According to the findings, around half of respondents in Singapore spend at least one hour each week revising AI-generated outputs. This includes clarifying, correcting, or rewriting parts of the response to make it usable.

A smaller group, about 12%, reported spending between two and four hours weekly on such rework alone.

Despite these challenges, productivity gains remain positive overall, with seven in 10 respondents said they feel more productive today compared to pre-AI days.

AI adoption also appears to be widespread. All respondents said their organisations are already using AI tools, and 86% reported that at least three different AI use cases have been implemented in their workplace.

Reinvesting productivity gains into employees

The study also found that many organisations are using time savings from AI adoption to benefit their workforce.

Among respondents who reported time savings from AI tools, 78% said the additional time was reinvested into employee development, upskilling, or training. Meanwhile, 68% said employees were able to redirect their time towards higher-value work such as strategic tasks, or innovative work.

When it comes to financial gains, respondents indicated that organisations are prioritising reinvestment in people. 80% said AI-related cost savings were reinvested in the workforce. The same proportion reported reinvestment in technology or infrastructure, while 23% said savings were returned to shareholders.

Sharing her views on this, Jess O’Reilly, General Manager for ASEAN, Workday, said reinvesting AI-driven gains into people is critical to improving outcomes and sustaining long-term value creation, adding that while AI can improve efficiency, speed alone does not unlock real value, and the biggest difference comes from reinvesting those gains into people.

"Organisations will need to prioritise talent development in the core areas of AI literacy and critical thinking. Building confidence for employees in their use of AI will be pivotal to reducing rework, enhancing business outcomes and delivering lasting value."

Higher expectations in AI-enabled workplaces

As AI becomes embedded in everyday workflows, employees are also feeling increased pressure to produce more work, with six in 10 respondents saying they are now expected to deliver a significantly higher volume of output than before.

Additionally, mid-level managers are most likely to take on the responsibility of reviewing and validating AI-assisted work. Managers and directors often act as quality gatekeepers, ensuring that outputs meet organisational standards before they are used or shared.

Even with these higher expectations, employee sentiment remains largely positive:

• Three quarters of respondents said they trust their leadership teams to make fair decisions about how AI could affect job security and rewards.
• Only 7% said they were concerned about potential redundancy linked to AI adoption.
• At the same time, six in 10 respondents reported that their stress levels and risk of burnout have decreased since AI tools were introduced in their organisations.

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