{
  "id": 10998693,
  "title": "AI is creating extra work for middle managers and women",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/30/ai-is-creating-extra-work-for-middle-managers-and-women",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-09-30T17:14:59.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Futurity",
    "slug": "futurity",
    "url": "https://www.futurity.org/invisible-work-ai-3347682/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A new study from the Notre Dame-IBM Tech Ethics Lab reveals that AI is not only altering how employees work but also generating additional tasks that were previously unaccounted for, particularly affecting middle managers and women in the workforce. Convened in collaboration with All Tech is Human, the research involved two workshops - one with middle-level professionals implementing AI and another with senior leaders making AI adoption decisions. Both groups shared similar concerns about speed and productivity becoming paramount, leading to a decrease in overall work standards and an acceptance of \"good enough\" work. However, researchers identified a gap in the formal job descriptions and performance metrics, as AI implementation created \"glue work\" - essential tasks such as validating AI outputs, translating strategy into action, coordinating across teams, and providing employee training. Middle managers frequently took on this additional workload, with some noting that women were disproportionately burdened. Meanwhile, executives questioned whether AI would render middle management roles obsolete, expressing concern over \"distributed deskilling\" - the loss of informal knowledge transfer and expertise development. These findings highlight a growing tension between leaders' fears of losing skills and the actual contributions of middle managers who are often performing these unseen tasks. The research suggests that AI adoption should prioritize human agency, with greater deliberation on what aspects of work should remain human, and the protection of opportunities to learn from mistakes. Business leaders are advised to be more transparent about what they measure, recognize the importance of diverse voices in AI decision-making, and balance efficiency gains with worker well-being and quality standards.",
  "summary": "New research shows that AI is actually creating new forms of work and reconfiguring employees' lived experience of work itself.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}