whomever you tell (I like the idea of telling your direct manager), consider the option of only telling the following: "Hey boss, I have an idea how to automate

whomever you tell (I like the idea of telling your direct manager), consider the option of only telling the following: "Hey boss, I have an idea how to automate this task of my colleagues and I am quite sure I could do it. However, since I already have a job for 100% of my time, I could arrange to do it in my free time for a bonus etc. etc." What I've learned with automating my own tasks (I am in an administrative role myself), is that there's usually not much of an advantage in telling it. Which is why nowadays I don't tell anyone and just use the added free time however I want. (well, part of the reason is that I don't like my team enough to share it with them, as harsh as it sounds. I liked sharing with my prior team because there I knew that everyone was doing their part...) The incentives usually are not set up well for automating your own (or your colleagues') tasks. Would probably be different if you were in a manager role, though.