“I’ll sleep when I’m dead.” I’m embarrassed to admit that this is a line I used to repeat, whether to justify working until 2:00 am to hit a deadline or squeezing in just one more email or skipping meals because “I don’t have time.”

But I learned the hard way that this joke isn’t funny. The 2024 Mercer Global Talent Trend Report data supports agrees. This robust study of more than 12,000 global participants suggests that 82% of the workforce is at risk of burnout, citing excessive workload, exhaustion, and financial strain as the main culprits.

This is toxic productivity in a nutshell — essentially an unhealthy compulsion to be productive at all times, often at the expense of our mental and physical well-being, relationships, and overall quality of life. It’s a common sentiment in today’s work culture, where the drive to be constantly productive is often celebrated, if not expected. But this mindset isn’t just harmful; it’s dangerous.

Understanding the Roots of Toxic Productivity

Toxic productivity is multifaceted and stems from a complex mix of psychological and societal factors. Productivity norms are deeply embedded in our psyches from growing up in environments that equate arduous work with virtue, and rest with laziness. This belief is further reinforced by a culture that encourages perfectionism, where individuals feel that their self-worth is tied to their achievements.

Social media amplifies the pressure of toxic productivity by fostering a constant sense of competition. Research finds that upward social comparisons are linked to low self-esteem and depression, with women most negatively affected. It contributes to workaholism, which emerges as a coping mechanism for anxiety or low self-esteem, with “busyness” serving as a distraction from negative thoughts and feelings.

The pandemic exacerbated these tendencies, with many people using work as a way to maintain a sense of control and purpose during uncertain times. As gross domestic product (GDP) fell sharply in the middle of the crisis, outdated labor productivity metrics created an irrational fear that we were in an economic downward spiral. Instead of recognizing that the world was in a massive health crisis and this was not business as usual, there was an accelerated push to return to pre-pandemic GDP levels.

What’s more, the rise of generative artificial intelligence (gen AI) is further skewing our ideas about productivity. I ask you this: If gen AI is here to save us time in minutes and hours, then how will we measure productivity? If someone is done with their work early because of AI, shouldn’t that be rewarded? Toxic productivity will never end — and may even get worse — unless we start measuring goals achieved, not hours worked.

The Era of Overdoing Everything

People are already struggling to meet their core job requirements, but when you factor in a staggering 192% increase in weekly meetings post-pandemic, it becomes significantly more challenging. We are over-meeting, over-looping, and over-collaborating — one of the worst work habits brought on by…[MORE]

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To read the entire article, visit the HBR site: Let’s End Toxic Productivity