How Tech Increases Thought Load with Liane Davey

Are you overwhelmed at work but can’t pinpoint why? Discover how “thought load”—not just workload—may be sabotaging productivity, innovation, and well-being in the tech-driven workplace. Kate O’Neill sits down with Liane Davey—the brilliant mind behind the new book Thought Load—to unpack why work isn’t working for so many of us. Topics covered: The concept of thought load and its core components Differences between workload, cognitive load, and thought load How technology and AI impact cognitive and emotional burdens The productivity trap and measuring outcomes vs. outputs Effects of constant digital interruptions on attention and energy The role of feedback and judgment in corporate settings Emotional and cognitive impacts of always-on workplace culture Energy reserves as an operational constraint Organizational interventions to reduce thought load The outcome of conflict debt in high thought load environments Designing safer, more productive workplace conflict Tech tools as both solution and source of mental drain Hope for more innovative and present organizations Connect with Liane DaveyWebsiteInstagramLinkedIn Episode Chapters:00:00 – Introduction and background 00:43 – What is “thought load”? 02:15 – Equation: Cognitive and emotional demands over energy reserves 03:38 – The neuroscience of “treacherous triad” 04:05 – Why workload and thought load are not the same 05:22 – AI’s surprising effects on thought load 06:27 – Rethinking productivity: The activity-output-outcome framework 09:08 – Technology’s role in multiplying and draining cognitive demand 10:30 – Why managers reward “responsiveness”—and why that’s a trap 13:14 – When tech reduces vs. increases cognitive demands 15:57 – Tech as an emotional burden amplifier 17:02 – The misunderstanding of feedback vs. judgment 18:54 – Social pain and at-scale judgment in digital workplaces 23:20 – The operational significance of energy reserves 28:06 – High-leverage interventions for organizational energy 33:36 – Conflict debt as an outcome of high thought load 35:20 – Making conflict safer and more productive 40:15 – What a tech humanist organization could look like 42:19 – Closing thoughts and hope for the future 43:26 – Book release and where to connect