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Korn Ferry's Workforce 2026 Global Insights Report finds 62% of employees saying their workload has increased significantly over the past two years, with 44% stretched beyond their capabilities and 45% too busy to deliver meaningful results. The AI figures sit oddly together: 63% agree using AI made them more efficient, and 52% say AI tools increased the number of tasks expected of them. Korn Ferry's explanation is mechanical rather than moral. AI removes only part of one person's workload, so the remainder is redistributed to whoever is left, and 61% of respondents now say they are doing the work of more than one role. Challenger, Gray & Christmas data has AI as the most-cited reason for layoffs since January 2026. 'Adding more technology without expanding workforce capacity clearly is not the answer,' said Roger Philby of Korn Ferry. This is the half of an AI layoff nobody counts: not the people who left, but the ones who absorbed their work.