Copy, paste, quit? Mundane tasks push workers to the brink

This story version has been formatted as an on-air script for broadcast outlets. See the original research story here.

AMERICAN WORKERS SAY THEY’RE DROWNING IN BUSYWORK — AND IT’S DRAINING PRODUCTIVITY, FUELING STRESS, AND EVEN PUSHING SOME TO QUIT.

THAT’S ACCORDING TO NEW RESEARCH FROM H-P WHICH SHOWED THAT WHITE COLLAR AND I-T EMPLOYEES ARE LOSING AN ESTIMATED HALF OF THEIR DAY (51% TOTAL WORK HOURS ESTIMATED) ON TEDIOUS, LOW-VALUE TASKS LIKE COPYING AND PASTING, MANAGING EMAILS AND DATA ENTRY.

IN FACT, ONE IN THREE RESPONDENTS HAS CONSIDERED QUITTING A JOB BECAUSE OF OUTDATED OR FRUSTRATING TECH.

A SIMILAR NUMBER (33%) OF WORKERS BELIEVE THAT THEIR CURRENT WORK TECHNOLOGY IS CONTRIBUTING TO FEELINGS OF STRESS. 

CONDUCTED BY TALKER RESEARCH, THE SURVEY ALSO FOUND THAT 85% OF WORKERS SAID REPETITIVE TASKS ARE A TOP CONTRIBUTOR TO BURNOUT.

TOP TIME-DRAINS ACCORDING TO WORKERS: 

• Writing emails (31%)
• Data management (25%)
• Catching up on team communications (22%)
• Searching for and organizing files and emails (18%)
• Managing calendars and meetings (16%) 
• Reporting (15%)
• Troubleshooting tech issues (14%) 
• Filling out forms like timesheets or expense reports (14%)

Survey methodology:

Talker Research surveyed 2,000 white collar workers/knowledge workers and 1,000 ITDMs at companies with over 100 employees; the survey was commissioned by HP and administered and conducted online by Talker Research between Aug. 25 - Sept 2, 2025.

We are sourcing from a non-probability frame and the two main sources we use are:

• Traditional online access panels — where respondents opt-in to take part in online market research for an incentive
• Programmatic — where respondents are online and are given the option to take part in a survey to receive a virtual incentive usually related to the online activity they are engaging in

Those who did not fit the specified sample were terminated from the survey. As the survey is fielded, dynamic online sampling is used, adjusting targeting to achieve the quotas specified as part of the sampling plan.

Regardless of which sources a respondent came from, they were directed to an Online Survey, where the survey was conducted in English; a link to the questionnaire can be shared upon request. Respondents were awarded points for completing the survey. These points have a small cash-equivalent monetary value.

Cells are only reported on for analysis if they have a minimum of 80 respondents, and statistical significance is calculated at the 95% level. Data is not weighted, but quotas and other parameters are put in place to reach the desired sample.

Interviews are excluded from the final analysis if they failed quality-checking measures. This includes:

• Speeders: Respondents who complete the survey in a time that is quicker than one-third of the median length of interview are disqualified as speeders
• Open ends: All verbatim responses (full open-ended questions as well as other please specify options) are checked for inappropriate or irrelevant text
• Bots: Captcha is enabled on surveys, which allows the research team to identify and disqualify bots
• Duplicates: Survey software has “deduping” based on digital fingerprinting, which ensures nobody is allowed to take the survey more than once

It is worth noting that this survey was only available to individuals with internet access, and the results may not be generalizable to those without internet access.