Jan just deleted your email.
Not because it was wrong. Because fixing it would take longer than starting over.
You spent an hour on that. AI helped you make it thorough, polished, stat-packed.
And Jan decided you're easier to ignore than work with.
That's workslop.
It's Worse Than You Think
Jan asked Salvador to lead the project.
He's not smarter or more experienced than you.
But Jan trusts he'll actually filter the work instead of outsourcing his brain to AI and dumping the cleanup on her.
Each time Jan gets your workslop, she sees you as less creative, capable, and intelligent.
And Jan isn't the only one seeing your work.
This has already happened to you more than you realize.
40% of U.S. desk workers received workslop last month.
Each incident takes 2 hours to clean up.
How many deliverables have you sent Jan this month?
You're Sending Workslop If...
- Jan asks you to explain why you recommend X and you can't answer on the spot.
- You spend more time prompting than reviewing.
- You ask AI to do the task without telling it your point of view.
- You defer to "well, the data suggests..." instead of defending your recommendation.
- You review it as "does this sound good?" instead of "is this true and useful?"
Be the Filter, Not the Offloader
This sucks. Jan's trust matters.
The next email you send can start rebuilding it.
Here's how:
- Give AI your POV before asking for the output. Tell AI what you think, what matters, what you've seen work or fail. Have it ask you questions so it understands your perspective. If the final deliverable doesn't sound like something you'd say in a meeting, you offloaded.
- Treat AI's output as research, not a final draft. Pull out what's useful. Trash what's fluff. Add what's missing: your experience, your judgment, your POV. If you're just reformatting AI's structure, you're offloading. If you're rebuilding it with your thinking, you're filtering.
- Read your final draft like you're Jan receiving it. Not "does this sound good?" but "is this useful? Is this true? Can I do something with this?" Delete anything you can't personally defend. If you're keeping sentences because they sound smart, you're offloading.
Don't Lose the Thinking That Got You Hired
Jan trusted you before your company told you AI use was mandatory.
She'll trust you again when you stop hiding what makes you valuable.
