For millions of American workers, the daily grind isn’t just about the job itself—it’s about the endless parade of emails, data entry, and digital distractions that leave them feeling like they’re running on empty. Two major new reports, one a nationwide survey commissioned by HP and another the subject of a new book by technology management expert Paul Leonardi, paint a sobering picture of what’s behind all this exhaustion: the unrelenting tide of "busywork" and digital overload.
According to a Talker Research survey released on October 7, 2025, and reported by HP, U.S. employees estimate that a staggering 51 percent of their workday is consumed by "busywork"—tasks like email, data handling, and the never-ending hunt for files. It’s not just a minor annoyance. The survey, which included 2,000 workers and 1,000 IT decision makers, found that one in three employees has considered quitting due to outdated or frustrating technology. Even more striking, a whopping 85 percent say that repetitive tasks are a key driver of burnout.
"These findings highlight a growing disconnect between the work people are hired and inspired to do and the work they actually spend time on," said Amy Winhoven, Global Head of Business Personal Systems and Alliance Marketing for HP, in a statement shared with the press. "When creative potential is buried under administrative burden, companies waste talent."
The numbers behind this burnout are hard to ignore. Workers report that repetitive tasks trigger stress about four times each week—adding up to more than 200 stressful moments in a single year. And workplace technology? It interrupts focus about three times per week, making it even harder for employees to get into a productive groove. Writing emails alone eats up 31 percent of the average worker’s day, followed by data management at 25 percent and catching up on team communications at 22 percent. Nearly one in five people say that just digging through files or emails is a major time sink, while others point to the hours lost in meetings, wrestling with software glitches, or filling out forms like timesheets and expense reports.
IT leaders aren’t oblivious to the problem. Seventy-six percent of them agree that employees are bogged down by menial work. Yet, fewer than four in ten workers feel they have the right tools to succeed. Only 37 percent strongly agree that their current technology lets them do their best work, and just 39 percent say their employer equips them to handle today’s fast-changing environment.
The wish list for workers is surprisingly straightforward. About a quarter want better data management, 19 percent crave help with email, 18 percent would love automated form-filling, and 17 percent simply want easier ways to organize files. The message is clear: People don’t want more complicated systems—they want their digital lives to be simpler, more intuitive, and less taxing.
Seventy percent of IT leaders say they plan to roll out integrated AI tools within the next year, but there’s a catch. As HP’s survey suggests, success will depend on whether these tools actually solve specific problems or just add another layer of digital friction. If history is any guide, workers may be skeptical until they see real results.
This sense of digital fatigue isn’t just about the tools themselves, but the constant switching between them, says Paul Leonardi, department chair and Duca Family Professor of Technology Management at the University of California, Santa Barbara. In his new book, "Digital Exhaustion: Simple Rules for Reclaiming Your Life," Leonardi breaks down why we’re all so tired—and what we can do about it. Speaking with CNN, Leonardi explained, "Every tool we use requires some amount of cognitive focus. We have to learn the tool we’re enmeshed in. When we switch, we have to disengage and reengage in another area of focus, and we also have to switch how we’re using that tool. Our brains do not do a good job of switching that quickly. The main issue is that we haven’t evolved to make the switches as quickly as we do today. It leaves us feeling exhausted."
Leonardi identifies three types of "switches" that sap our energy: between modalities (jumping from one app or tool to another), between domains (switching between different tasks), and between areas of life (like toggling from work emails to a text from your kid’s school). Each type of switch pulls us out of our thought process, and the cumulative toll is real. "We didn’t evolve to sit in an office in front of a computer, so our brain doesn’t know to tell itself it’s tired. We can just keep taxing ourselves, but that residue builds up over time. Then we feel like we’ve been hit by a semitruck," Leonardi told CNN.
Social media, Leonardi argues, is the most exhausting digital platform of all. Why? It’s a triple whammy: constant notifications demand our attention, we’re always making inferences about people’s lives from snippets of information, and our emotions are constantly piqued—whether by envy, exclusion, or comparison. "Social media is so exhausting because it maximizes all three of these forces," Leonardi explained. The endless scroll isn’t just a time sink; it’s a cognitive and emotional drain.
The exhaustion is even more acute for remote workers. According to Leonardi, "One of the big reasons remote workers experience exhaustion even more than people in the office—or it feels more acute—is that it’s very difficult to create separation between work and home. They’re constantly trying to manage that boundary, and that’s so exhausting." Remote workers rely on digital tools for everything, meaning they rarely get a break from screens or the pressure to appear present and engaged online. "You’re also managing your presence when you’re working from home. You need to make sure people know you’re available because it matters for people’s perception of your work performance. So, you’re putting on a sort of act that’s also exhausting," Leonardi told CNN.
So, what can be done? Leonardi offers some practical advice. Turning off your own video feed in meetings, for instance, can reduce self-consciousness and the mental effort of managing your appearance. "We tend to fixate on ourselves, and doing that creates a feeling of self-consciousness. It also creates more effort for us to manage our presentation to others. Imagine if you were talking to friends, or you’re in a meeting, and you have a mirror in front of your face the entire time. These extra little activities accumulate to wear us out over time," he said.
For parents swamped by endless group chats about carpools and soccer games, Leonardi suggests a counterintuitive strategy: sometimes, it’s more efficient—and fulfilling—to coordinate in person. "A lot of folks find they’re developing richer relationships because that discussion about the car pool is just the entrée to a deeper conversation. Those are much more fulfilling relationships than the transactions taking place via text," he told CNN.
As digital tools continue to shape the modern workplace, the message from both HP’s survey and Leonardi’s research is clear: the path to productivity—and sanity—lies in making our technology serve us, not the other way around. The real challenge for employers and employees alike will be finding ways to cut through the digital clutter and reclaim the focus, creativity, and human connection that make work worth doing.
