Artificial Intelligence (AI) can help people find their work meaningful. Originally, “fake work” referred to tasks that add no value to a company and serve only to keep employees busy. However, the concept has evolved. With software, we can now simulate work without being truly productive. Terms like “home office simulation” and “quiet vacationing” have emerged as new phenomena. But is this what we really want? No!
These two phenomena—fake work and work simulation—highlight what is missing in the modern workplace: a clear focus on genuine value creation and work that motivates people, allowing them to use their skills productively and creatively.
The solution? Artificial Intelligence, of course!
With AI, we can not only optimize our productivity in terms of value creation but also design a work environment that we enjoy. If companies use AI correctly, they can allow employees to focus on meaningful, creative, and strategic tasks. Routine tasks that consume valuable time can be delegated to machines, while humans engage in activities that machines cannot yet perform: creative thinking, strategic decision-making, and empathy in interpersonal relationships.
AI should help us rediscover joy in our work by enabling us to focus on activities that truly advance us. Unfortunately, many companies still place more value on activity than on actual results. We see it every day: the feeling of always being busy pushes the question of whether what we do really makes a difference into the background. People want more than just to appear productive—they yearn for work that has a clear purpose. The desire to make a difference and contribute meaningfully is deeply ingrained in us.
The concept of “New Work” addresses this by opening the door to a work environment that puts people at the center, allowing them to take responsibility and be creative. However, this desire for self-determination and meaning often clashes with the realities of many organizations, which still cling to rigid structures that may encourage work simulation and false productivity.
Fake work, in both senses described, is not just a technical or organizational issue but a cultural one. The tendency for employees to pretend to work indicates that many organizations have focused on the wrong priorities. In a work culture where mere presence and constant availability are considered signs of productivity, and where fake work is common, genuine progress is often hindered.
New Work, along with AI, is part of the solution. The concept encourages companies to create more flexible structures and give employees more responsibility. However, this change only works if accompanied by an awareness of work quality. It’s not about doing more tasks but about doing the right tasks. This also means asking the right questions: What adds real value? Where are human skills indispensable? And how can we use technology in a way that supports us rather than traps us in fake work and work simulation?
If we strategically combine AI and New Work, we create a work environment that enables genuine value creation, leaving fake work behind. It is up to us to use technology as a tool to focus on tasks that truly advance us—this is New Work.
Christoph Magnussen is the founder of the New Work consultancy Blackboat, which sustainably strengthens collaboration in companies. Magnussen is also the co-host of the podcast “On the Way to New Work” and co-author of the book of the same name.