Uploaded April 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
In this episode of PRCA Sparks: Productivity in PR, Nigel Sarbutts is joined by cyber psychologist Sonya Cullington to explore the hidden realities behind AI, digital tools, and the pressure to “do more with less.” Drawing on her experience in health communications and digital transformation, Sonya challenges the assumption that faster equals better, revealing how new technologies often increase workload, cognitive strain, and anxiety rather than reducing them. The conversation unpacks the “productivity paradox,” where efficiency gains lead to more tasks, blurred boundaries, and diminished critical thinking. Sonya highlights the overlooked role of human dynamics, friction, trust, leadership behaviour, and psychological safety, in shaping how teams actually experience productivity tools. Together, they examine how ambiguity, lack of control, and poor implementation can drive disengagement and “quiet failure,” even when systems appear successful on paper.
The episode ultimately argues that sustainable productivity depends less on adopting the latest technology and more on creating the right organisational conditions: clear priorities, supportive leadership, and environments where people can think, challenge and thrive.
In this episode of PRCA Sparks: Productivity in PR, Nigel Sarbutts is joined by cyber psychologist Sonya Cullington to explore the hidden realities behind AI, digital tools, and the pressure to “do more with less.” Drawing on her experience in health communications and digital transformation, Sonya challenges the assumption that faster equals better, revealing how new technologies often increase workload, cognitive strain, and anxiety rather than reducing them. The conversation unpacks the “productivity paradox,” where efficiency gains lead to more tasks, blurred boundaries, and diminished critical thinking. Sonya highlights the overlooked role of human dynamics, friction, trust, leadership behaviour, and psychological safety, in shaping how teams actually experience productivity tools. Together, they examine how ambiguity, lack of control, and poor implementation can drive disengagement and “quiet failure,” even when systems appear successful on paper.
The episode ultimately argues that sustainable productivity depends less on adopting the latest technology and more on creating the right organisational conditions: clear priorities, supportive leadership, and environments where people can think, challenge and thrive.
