AI makes a lot of work faster. A text is ready in a few minutes, and so is an analysis. That feels like a gain. What it does to the enjoyment of your work and to your craftsmanship is less clear. A series of experiments from 2025 found that people perform better with AI, and are then less motivated for the work they do themselves.
Better results, less motivation
Researchers ran four experiments with more than 3,500 participants in total. People who did a task with AI delivered better work. But when they then had to do a task without AI, they were less motivated and more bored. The better result did not stick (Wu and colleagues, 2025; discussed in HBR).
The feeling of speed isn’t always right either. In a controlled trial, experienced programmers took 19% longer with AI, while they thought they were working 20% faster (METR, 2025).
Less thinking for yourself
Microsoft Research and Carnegie Mellon University asked 319 knowledge workers how they work with AI. The more people relied on AI, the less critically they thought for themselves. Those who had confidence in their own expertise kept thinking more (Microsoft Research, 2025).
TNO, the Dutch research organisation, saw something else in Dutch case studies. AI takes over the simple jobs, and with them the quieter moments in the work disappear. What remains is more complex and mentally heavier. Young employees check the output of AI instead of working things out themselves. That way they skip a step in which they learn the trade (TNO, 2025).
Getting absorbed takes thinking
Absorption is one of the three features of work engagement: being so caught up in your work that time flies. That usually happens with work that challenges you and lets you use your craftsmanship. If AI takes over the thinking, there is less left to get absorbed in. And if people get the idea that their own skill matters less, their dedication drops too.
Craftsmanship is a source of engagement. People who master their trade and can show it get energy from it. AI can strengthen that by taking away routine work. It can also hollow it out, if people are left only checking what a machine has made.
Directing AI costs energy
Researchers at BCG surveyed 1,488 American employees about their work with AI. They name a new phenomenon “AI brain fry”: mental fatigue from using or checking more AI than your mind can handle. Of the people who use AI, 14% recognise it. People who have to check a lot of AI work more often feel mentally tired and overloaded with information. At the same time, the researchers saw that people burn out less when AI mainly takes over routine work (Harvard Business Review, 2026). So it comes down to how you organise the work with AI.
Paul: AI removes the mediocre
Paul van Heeringen of IMPACT on the Job sees it a little differently from “AI hollows out craftsmanship”. “What I mainly see is AI removing mediocrity. Everything average in your craft is taken over by AI.” According to Paul, that means you need your craft in even better shape as a professional than before. “You’ll probably be directing several AI agents that do the average work for you. Then you have to be above average and keep a clear view of what they’re doing.”
That brings mixed feelings. You get more done in a day, and at the same time it demands a lot of sharpness and overview. “Even if you’ve done the same work for years and you’re a true craftsman, you’ll have to learn to work with agents that take work off your hands. It takes a different perspective and more ability to think in the abstract.” Paul calls it a skill we all need to develop quickly. “We need time for that, and support from each other within teams and companies. It’s a change that is moving incredibly fast. People get enthusiastic about it, but also uncertain.”
For managers, Paul sees a clear task in this. “Talk to your people. Ask where they find meaning and how they experience their work. Don’t do that once a year, maybe even do it every month.” That takes more time and attention.
How to keep motivation and craftsmanship strong
- Invest in above-average craftsmanship. AI takes over the average work. Help people strengthen the part of their craft where they are better than average.
- Teach the team to direct AI agents. This is a new skill, even for experienced professionals. Give it time and let colleagues help each other.
- Let young people learn the trade first. Let them work things out themselves first and then use AI to compare. That way they learn to judge what AI produces.
- Watch the mental load. More work per day demands a lot of sharpness and overview. Plan moments of rest, because the easy jobs that used to give breathing space are disappearing.
- Talk about the work every month. Ask how people experience their work, what they still get absorbed in and what makes them uncertain. Once a year is too little now that work is changing so fast.
See where the energy is
How fast the work goes says little about whether people still get absorbed in it. With the Employee Engagement Survey by Leiders.nl, you see per team whether people still have energy and get absorbed in their work. And for young professionals who want to develop their craftsmanship and leadership, there is the Young Leadership Programme.
Also read If AI takes over your work, what is left of its meaning? and Is AI draining your team’s energy?
