Challenging assumptions about the role of technology in improving efficiency, almost two-thirds of business leaders (62%) say AI is increasing the need for human discussion and alignment.
The findings come from the UK Productivity Gap Index, a new study based on a survey of 1,000 UK business leaders and building on Northstar Travel Group’s PULSE Survey. Conducted in partnership with The Business of Events, it reveals how everyday collaboration challenges are quietly slowing organisations down.
While AI is widely adopted, many leaders say it is introducing new complexity. More than a third (36%) report AI has already had a major or significant operational impact, with a further 30% experiencing moderate disruption.
Face-to-face interaction remains central to how organisations navigate that complexity. Almost two-thirds (65%) of leaders say complex or sensitive decisions are made more quickly in person, rising to 82% for important decisions.
This added complexity isn’t without consequence. The research also found that UK businesses are losing the equivalent of a full working month each year because decisions take too long. Managers report losing an average of 3.9 hours every week to delayed or unclear decisions, adding up to 202 hours or 25 working days of lost productivity annually.
Half (50%) of leaders reported that projects frequently stall due to slow decisions. Nearly as many (47%) report that meetings end without a clear outcome, while 43% note that teams regularly revisit decisions that should have already been settled.
This points to a wider issue around alignment rather than effort. On average, leaders estimate that poor collaboration reduces productivity by 14%, with one in four reporting the impact is 20% or more.
While hybrid continues to evolve, the picture is mixed. Half of leaders believe it is slowing early-career development, yet 59% say knowledge-sharing has improved since the pandemic. Together, the findings suggest organisations are still working out how to balance flexibility with effective collaboration.
A spokesperson for The Business of Events said: “This research highlights a fundamental shift in how productivity challenges are emerging across UK organisations. It is no longer simply about how hard people work, but how effectively teams align, make decisions and move work forward.”
“As organisations adopt AI and more flexible ways of working, the need for clarity and shared understanding becomes more important, not less. Without that alignment, technology can accelerate activity, but not necessarily progress. What this study shows is that collaboration, particularly when it brings people together to resolve complexity, plays a critical role in how businesses perform.”
The research will be explored further in a fascinating session at The Meetings Show, the UK’s leading exhibition for the meetings and events industry, which returns to Excel London from 24-25 June 2026 and is co-located with Business Travel Show Europe and TravelTech Show.
Learn more about The Meetings Show here.
