Aussies less productive due to admin and meetings, research finds

New research has shown that Aussie workers are experiencing a productivity slump because of attending meetings and administrative work. Nearly nine in 10 Aussie workers experience emotional overload, it found.

Tech company Miro released its 2025 Momentum at Work Report, a survey conducted in July 2025 – of 6,148 full-time knowledge workers in Australia, DACH, France, Japan, the Netherlands, Nordics, the UK, and the US, from a variety of roles, industries and generations.

It said that evolving work trends are influencing teams’ ability to deliver meaningful, impactful work and the expectations of AI in redefining the experience of knowledge workers worldwide.

Miro’s head in Japan and the Asia-Pacific region, Brigid Archibald, said the company’s survey findings “highlight both a challenge and an opportunity for employers”.

Overwhelm due to maintenance

“Even though employees are putting in more work, many are feeling overwhelmed by the repetitive, low-value tasks they’re required to complete, resulting in reduced productivity and low morale,” Archibald said.

Miro’s chief information officer and head of business transformation, Tomás Dostal Freire, said: “It doesn’t have to be this way.”

“For every one hour and 42 minutes of momentum work – creative and strategic efforts that drive innovation – Aussies spend six hours on maintenance work, the repetitive tasks that support day-to-day operations, like meetings, email, and paperwork,” Miro said.

Its research found that the most common types of maintenance work included emails, messages, redoing work in different tools and apps, and reporting and updates.

Fifty-four per cent of Aussie workers said they’re working more but getting less done, it revealed.

These administrative and meeting responsibilities acted as a severe bottleneck for knowledge workers, with 55 per cent saying that they are working more but getting less done and over half (52 per cent) of respondents reporting that maintenance work is a source of stress.

The report also found that these maintenance jobs arise as a result of outdated tools, fragmented tech stacks, and failure to fully leverage AI.

These obstacles were found to cause challenges related to collaboration, communication, mental blocks and last-minute deadlines, according to over 90 per cent of respondents.

“Increasing the speed of delivery is irrelevant if teams aren’t focused on the right work,” Archibald said.

The report found that one in four Aussie workers experience emotional overload at least once a month due to their work, with nearly one in five facing this struggle daily.

“Organisations must cut out busywork or risk a decline in productivity, innovation, and employee wellbeing,” the tech provider said.

Life made easier with AI

“When applied effectively, AI can ease the burden of an unsatisfying task list by automating routine work and streamlining time-consuming processes,” Archibald said.

Its findings revealed that 54 per cent believed that AI can streamline communication, 64 per cent believed AI can improve information sharing, and 45 per cent believed that AI can improve cross-functional collaboration overall.

“We’re already seeing how AI tools can help individuals reduce the time spent on admin tasks from hours to minutes. But this is only scratching the surface,” said Dostal Freire.

Archibald said: “By encouraging the responsible use of AI, HRs can help people focus on the work they find fulfilling – a win for employee engagement, wellbeing, and ultimately, retention.”

Thirty-nine per cent of knowledge workers agreed that failing to embrace AI leads to more maintenance work, the report revealed.

Based on its findings, over half (55 per cent) agreed that AI can help with admin, 60 per cent believed that AI can reduce the need to redo work across tools, and 45 per cent believed that AI can help with reducing the task load of meeting prep and follow-up (46 per cent).

“The good news is that those working in HR can make a meaningful difference by advocating for smarter ways of working,” Archibald said.

“By simplifying processes, updating tools where possible, and leaning into AI where it makes sense to, employees’ workloads can be lightened, enabling them to focus on meaningful, high-impact work.”