AI glossary
Workslop
Workslop is slop at work: AI-generated output that looks polished and finished but lacks the substance to move the task on, leaving the real thinking to whoever receives it. The name comes from researchers at BetterUp Labs (the research arm of BetterUp, a coaching company) and Stanford Social Media Lab, writing in Harvard Business Review in September 2025.
Think of it as
Handing over a flat-pack box and calling it a wardrobe.
Why it matters at work
It looks like productivity but adds work for colleagues further down the line, and in the researchers’ survey of US desk workers, people thought less of colleagues who sent it. Module 4 covers how to spot it and how not to send it.
Sources
- AI-Generated “Workslop” Is Destroying Productivity (opens in a new tab) Harvard Business Review (Niederhoffer, Kellerman, Lee, Liebscher, Rapuano and Hancock; BetterUp Labs and Stanford Social Media Lab), 22 September 2025.