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Workers said they’re doing three jobs at once in their current roles, but over half haven’t had a raise or promotion for their hard work, according to a new study.
A recent survey of 2,000 employed Americans investigated the many contributing factors behind this increase in workload and what workers need to work sustainably.
Each year, respondents said they have nine new tasks added to their plates, on average, with this uptick in responsibilities happening at an exponential rate.
According to the study findings, the majority of workers (78%) have been “voluntold” to do something in the last year, having been assigned new work that they didn’t apply for or agree to, but were expected to tackle anyway.
More than one in 10 (12%) have even been “voluntold” to do extra work in the last day.
Conducted by Talker Research and commissioned by Office Beacon, the study also uncovered how workplace data differs by age group and industry.
And the study found that Gen Z workers (17%) and logistics or field-based workers (15%) were the groups most likely to have been handed new tasks as recently as the last day.
The most common reason behind these new and involuntary responsibilities? A simple lack of staffing was the most common reason cited across all industries (37%).
Twenty-eight percent of workers also said this increase in work happened without a discussion with their management, and nearly one in five (17%) said the new responsibilities were framed as temporary but became permanent.
Yet of those who’ve involuntarily received new work responsibilities, 53% never received a raise or promotion, with service (56%) and healthcare workers (55%) being the least likely to receive these things in light of new duties.
Zooming in, nearly all of those who’ve been “voluntold” to do additional work in recent years (91%) said these new tasks fall outside their original job description, and most (55%) do not feel very qualified to do them.
The trend of being “voluntold” to do extra work has also had a negative impact on workers’ preexisting responsibilities, with nearly three-quarters (74%) saying their new assignments have hurt their ability to do their job to the best of their abilities.
Four in ten employees (40%) even agreed, “I love my job, but I don’t feel like I can keep up with it anymore,” with Gen Z (55%) and healthcare workers (47%) being the most likely to feel this way.
“AI is now a permanent fixture in the workplace, and inevitably a part of the workplace wellness conversation,” said Pranav Dalal, chief executive officer and founder of Office Beacon. “What’s missing from the AI/workplace picture, though, is a healthy awareness that AI should be used as a tool to support and empower workers, enabling them to do their jobs better. Workplace leaders need to be aware that burnout has a very real impact on their workers’ wellbeing, and AI is a support tool that should be helping with burnout, not creating it.”
The survey revealed that 41% of workers suffer from burnout at work, resulting in job dissatisfaction (54%), worsened mental health (46%), and workers questioning their abilities to even do their jobs well (32%).
Healthcare (49%) and service workers (41%) have struggled the most with burnout, and baby boomers are the unhappiest in their roles due to work fatigue (69%).
Forty percent of employees even admitted that in the last three years, they’ve considered leaving their jobs because responsibilities were added to their workload without giving them the proper support.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is a big part of this discussion, and 39% of the workers polled said their companies have introduced AI tools or automations into their workflow in the last three years.
Of those, only a small handful (7%) said AI tools have decreased their workload. In contrast, 43% said that with AI integrated at their company, their responsibilities have multiplied. And less than a third (31%) said AI has made their work much more efficient.
With AI in the picture, training on how to use it is more important than ever. And of those using AI in their workflow, most (72%) did receive training on how to use it.
“This increase in workload due to AI indicates a leadership issue,” continued Dalal. “This study found that most workers using AI received training for it. So why do workers still feel burnt out, and why are many still not feeling much more efficient in their roles? This indicates a larger toxic corporate culture issue, where leaders are heaping more and more on their employees’ plates. With AI as a tool, the opposite should be happening.”
When asked about AI training effectiveness, most of the workers who received AI training (87%) felt it was adequate — pointing to a leadership issue at the root of burnout, rather than AI.
Many surveyed (39%) also said they would save more time at work if they were taught to use AI tools by a human rather than a self-guided program, course, or automated training.
Along with better, more effective AI training, millennials (40%), Gen X (37%), and baby boomers (42%) said additional pay or recognition for all the work they do would be the most helpful thing.
And the thing that Gen Z said would improve their work the most? They simply want better communication from their management (33%), according to the data.
Research methodology:
Talker Research surveyed 2,000 employed Americans who have access to the internet; the survey was commissioned by Office Beacon and administered and conducted online by Talker Research between Jan. 19 and Jan. 23, 2026. A link to the questionnaire can be found here.
