The Great British Productivity Paradox: Helping Leaders Burst the 'Busy Bubble'
UK businesses are investing in AI, but most are still measuring success by hours worked and tasks completed. Smartsheet surveyed 500 UK senior business decision-makers to find out what that gap is costing, and what leaders can do to close it.
The findings reveal a paradox most leaders will recognise: 80% say AI is already improving productivity, yet the metrics most organisations use to measure that productivity haven't changed. This report explains why, what it's costing, and what to do about it. Key findings include:
- UK teams lose 10 working weeks a year to low-value work, equating to roughly £12,000 per employee because success is still measured by activity, not impact.
- 63% of leaders say “hours worked” is an outdated measure, yet 26% still use it—and 68% still equate being busy with being productive.
- 6 in 10 leaders say they regularly see employees doing work designed to look productive rather than deliver results.
Read the report to find out what's holding AI's potential back, and get a practical framework for measuring what actually matters.