How much time do employees spend on repetitive tasks? What the research says
What the main studies found
| Source | Finding | How to read it |
|---|---|---|
| Smartsheet, Automation in the Workplace | Over 40% of workers spend at least a quarter of their work week on manual, repetitive tasks. Email, data collection and data entry take the most time. | Self reported survey from a software company. The report dates from 2017. |
| Asana, Anatomy of Work Index | Knowledge workers spend about 60% of their time on "work about work", such as chasing status updates, searching for information and switching between apps. The research covered more than 10,000 knowledge workers. | "Work about work" is broader than repetitive tasks. It includes coordination that is partly necessary. |
| McKinsey, The economic potential of generative AI (2023) | Current technologies, including generative AI, could automate work activities that absorb 60 to 70% of employees' time today. | Technical potential, not a prediction of what will actually be automated or when. |
What these numbers do not prove
- They are not about your business. None of these studies is specific to UAE teams or your sector.
- They are mostly self reported. People estimate their own time, which is rarely precise.
- Definitions differ. "Repetitive tasks", "work about work" and "automatable activities" are three different things.
- Potential is not reality. A task that could be automated in theory may not be worth automating in practice.
The honest conclusion: repetitive work is a large share of most office jobs, large enough that it is worth measuring properly in your own team.
Turn the research into AED
A quarter of a 40 hour week is 10 hours. At AED 45 an hour, 10 hours a week of repetitive work costs AED 450 a week, AED 1,950 a month and AED 23,400 a year, for one person. Time is money: that figure is part of the salary you already pay. Run your own figures with the formula in how to calculate what repeat work costs your team.
Why repetitive work hides so well
- It comes in small pieces. Five minutes here and ten minutes there never look like a problem.
- It is spread across tools. WhatsApp, email, the CRM and a spreadsheet each take a slice.
- Nobody owns it. It sits between roles, so no manager adds it up.
- It feels like work. Copying a lead into a CRM feels productive, even though no customer benefits.
Measure your own team in one week
Pick one person, list every task they repeat, and log the minutes for one normal week. Multiply the hours by their cost per hour. The full method, with a log template and a ranking table, is in the one week time audit.
Where to start
The Smartsheet findings point to the same places most teams find in their own audit: email, data collection and data entry. Each has its own guide: email inbox automation, the hidden cost of manual data entry and automating the weekly report.
Questions people ask
How many hours a week do employees spend on repetitive tasks?
It varies by role. In Smartsheet's survey, over 40% of workers said they spend at least a quarter of their week on manual, repetitive tasks, which is about 10 hours in a 40 hour week. Measure your own team to be sure.
Is it true that 60% of work time is wasted?
Not exactly. Asana's figure of about 60% is time spent on "work about work", such as coordination, searching and status updates. Some of that is necessary. It shows how much time goes around the real work, not that it is all waste.
Can AI automate 70% of my team's work?
McKinsey's 60 to 70% figure is the technical potential of current technology, not a forecast. In practice, start with the repetitive tasks that have clear rules and measure the hours given back.
How do I measure repetitive work in my team?
Run a one week time audit: list the repeat tasks, log the minutes as they happen, then multiply the hours by the cost per hour.
Sources and further reading
- Smartsheet: workers waste a quarter of the work week on manual, repetitive tasks (Automation in the Workplace survey).
- Asana: why work about work is bad (Anatomy of Work Index findings).
- McKinsey: The economic potential of generative AI (2023, technical automation potential).