Fragmented AI Is Creating a "Faster but Not Better" Workplace

Press Release New Workday Research: Fragmented AI Is Creating a "Faster but Not Better" Reality for Employees in Hong Kong and Taiwan Download PDF Around a quarter Hong Kong and Taiwan workers spend a significant amount of time each week managing data across disconnected systems, despite feeling productive HONG KONG – August 26, 2026 — Workday, Inc. (NASDAQ: WDAY), the enterprise AI platform for HR, finance, and IT, today released new research showing that disconnected AI tools and systems are creating hidden productivity costs for Hong Kong and Taiwan employees, generating friction, slowing decision-making, and increasing unnecessary stress. Despite widespread optimism about AI, around a quarter of Hong Kong and Taiwan workers spend seven or more hours a week moving information and reconciling data. The report, “The Copy/Paste Economy: Why Task-Oriented AI Is Failing the Enterprise,” shows that while many employees say AI helps them complete individual tasks faster, those gains are often offset by the time spent switching between systems, checking outputs and manually moving information across tools. The research found that around 8 out of 10 employees in Hong Kong and Taiwan spend significant time managing work between multiple systems or tools. Employees Feel Productive, But Fragmented Systems Are Holding Them Back The data points to an illusion of productivity. Employees in Hong Kong and Taiwan report higher levels of optimism about AI than the global average. 9 in 10 say AI is improving their day-to-day work experience, while 79% believe it reduces the time required to complete tasks and 58% say it has accelerated their work in a productive way, indicating that efficiency gains at the task level are not translating to total time saved. There’s a popular narrative that employees are disengaged, embittered by redundancies and distrustful of AI. New research from Workday, surveying 200 professionals from Hong Kong and Taiwan across HR, finance, IT and operations who actively use AI in their roles, indicates that narrative is wrong. In fact, 97% of those surveyed rate their day-to-day work positively. Moreover, around 9 in 10 report strong ownership and connection to organisational goals, while 79% say they make meaningful progress on a typical work day. This creates a “faster but not better” reality for the workforce. In the rush to adopt AI, businesses are prioritising new features without ensuring that the technology can work together. While an isolated application might speed up one specific task, managing the disconnect slows down the rest of the day for workers. “Organisations in Hong Kong and Taiwan are embracing AI, but many are still layering it onto fragmented systems and workflows. While employees are already seeing AI help them work more efficiently on individual tasks, these gains can be lost when they have to move between disconnected tools and systems,” said Daniel Cham, general manager for Workday Greater China. “Organisations need to move beyond surface-level AI adoption and integrate AI into the core systems and workflows where their people, data and work come together. This is where AI can deliver the greatest business impact, helping organisations in Hong Kong improve productivity, make better decisions, and drive growth.” The research also found that the costs of fragmented AI are impacting Hong Kong and Taiwan organisations more significantly than their global peers: AI remains on the sidelines: 25% of Hong Kong organisations and 12% of Taiwanese organisations have embedded AI into their core workflows, compared with the global average of 27%. As a result, AI is still operating around the edges of the business rather than where work actually happens, limiting productivity gains and adding to employee stress. Fragmented information creates daily friction: 4 in 5 employees in Hong Kong and Taiwan say decisions are delayed when information is missing or unclear, while 79% often disagree over whose numbers are right. Rework is draining productivity: 74% of employees in Hong Kong and Taiwan say they spend time redoing work because of business systems or data issues rather than the work itself, compared with 64% globally, highlighting the productivity cost of fragmented systems. Low confidence in trusted data: Only 69% of employees in Hong Kong and Taiwan believe their organisation has a widely trusted source of truth, compared with 78% globally. Confidence in visibility over people and skills data is also lower, at 73% versus 80% globally, suggesting weaker trust in organisational data integrity. Moving Away From the Copy/Paste Economy The research shows that integrated AI platforms perform significantly better than disconnected, standalone applications. Companies are seeing the most success when they make integration the priority, building AI directly into the core systems where work happens. By making this shift, organisations can move the burden of low-value copy-and-paste work from the employee to AI itself. When employees are empowered with technology that delivers, those lost hours can be reinvested directly into the measurable outcomes businesses need. For additional information Download the full report: “The Copy/Paste Economy: Why Task-Oriented AI Is Failing the Enterprise” Read the latest blog from Julie Colwell: “New Research Reveals the Reason Work Feels Harder Than It Should” About the Report The research was conducted online globally by The Harris Poll on behalf of Workday among 6,100 global professionals, including 200 in Hong Kong and Taiwan, across HR, finance, IT and operations, the departments that form the operational core of large enterprises. Respondents are employed full time at organisations of 500+ employees with revenue of US$100M+, and all actively use AI in their organisation and their own role. Among directors, vice presidents and C-suite executives, they must take an active role in their organisation’s AI strategy. The survey was conducted 2-24 March 2026. About Workday Workday operates at the heart of the enterprise – HR, finance, and IT – where the margin for error is effectively zero. By tightly coupling AI with the context, guardrails, and trusted processes that run the business, Workday goes beyond AI that assists work to agents that do the work and drive measurable outcomes. More than 11,500 organizations worldwide, including more than 65% of the Fortune 500, trust Workday to deliver. For more information about Workday, visit workday.com/en-hk/ Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements including, among other things, statements regarding Workday’s plans, beliefs, and expectations. These forward-looking statements are based only on currently available information and our current beliefs, expectations, and assumptions. Because forward-looking statements relate to the future, they are subject to inherent risks, uncertainties, assumptions, and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict and many of which are outside of our control. If the risks materialise, assumptions prove incorrect, or we experience unexpected changes in circumstances, actual results could differ materially from the results implied by these forward-looking statements, and therefore you should not rely on any forward-looking statements. Risks include, but are not limited to, risks described in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), including our most recent report on Form 10-Q or Form 10-K and other reports that we have filed and will file with the SEC from time to time, which could cause actual results to vary from expectations. Workday assumes no obligation to, and does not currently intend to, update any such forward-looking statements after the date of this release, except as required by law. Any unreleased services, features, or functions referenced in this document, our website, or other press releases or public statements that are not currently available are subject to change at Workday’s discretion and may not be delivered as planned or at all. Customers who purchase Workday services should make their purchase decisions based upon services, features, and functions that are currently available. For further information: Winsome Ho: [email protected], +852 6761 4199 --> Get Workday news by email. Subscribe Media inquiries? Please reach out. Contact Media Relations