Toxic productivity. A phrase we probably ought to apply a bit more liberally I think if we want to acknowledge the bizarre weight our society gives to the grind, the hustle, forgoing sleep in favour of work and then flexing it as some badge of honour.

Here are the things which have been on my mind recently as potential ways we can start to shift this mindset in our personal lives and in our businesses.

1. Good work doesn’t have to be hard work

I didn’t come up with this. Greg McKeown’s most recent book, Effortless, eloquently describes the way we are so fixated with “hard work”. But why does work have to be hard? Surely there is something far more intelligent to crafting an easy way of doing things, and then doing them efficiently, effectively, and consistently. Workplaces should be seeking to reward those who produce good work, but this shouldn’t be purely output based.

Simon Sinek proposes a much more balanced approach to reviewing employee performance, suggesting that achieving key performance indicators (KPIs) is only one piece of the puzzle. He reflects on the KPI-driven worker who, obsessed with rolling in their next bonus, will resort to lying, faking, cheating – whatever means possible – to hit their target right on the final buzzer. Instead, he praises the employee who delivers gradual, sustainable and honest growth which propel the organization on a steady trajectory towards their goal (even if this doesn’t meet the intended target on the exact date).

Ultimately, if you feel like you’re killing yourself at work, something isn’t right and your workplace should be helping to address whatever has led to this.

2. Make breaks non-negotiable

The more output-orientated we become, the more staff feel obligated to use every spare moment of the working day. There’s no doubt this is unhealthy, unsustainable, antisocial, and all-round a negative for workplace culture.

I have previously struggled with holding myself accountable to this. It is all too easy to have lunch at my desk, whilst doing a Zoom meeting on one monitor, and completing some other work on the second. As something of a New Years resolution, I have committed myself to taking my full breaks, sitting outside in the park nearby and have been surprised with how much it has produced a sense of calm. The pause gives me an opportunity to reflect, breathe and gain some mental clarity before diving into the afternoon’s tasks.

I think more and more about the four-day work weeks that exist overseas, where similar output can be generated compared to a five-day work week. Ultimately, we are probably only kidding ourselves if we think we can produce a greater volume of work without taking breaks (or, at best, we compromise on quality). I think it is vital for employers to praise and prioritize staff breaks, particularly in competitive industries where KPI’s are so emphasized.

3. Role modelling

Ultimately, staff are only going to follow the type of behaviour they see modelled for them. So when executives are staying back after hours, regularly replying to emails at 3am and missing their breaks, these tactics readily feel like an expectation of employees. If managers truly believe in work-life balance and prioritizing the health of their employees, they need to also demonstrate how this can be achieved. That means clocking on at 8am, out at 5pm, and not making that seem like a crime.

I confess I have caught myself out on this one. I have regularly heard colleagues (and I done the same) sighing to interns “make sure you take your breaks and leave on time, since you won’t get to do that after your intern year”. How terrible! Positive role modelling around working standard hours, taking breaks and prioritizing self-care needs to be modelled at all levels of management and should be popularized into workplace culture as the expected standard, not as some privilege some staff can get on a good day.

So I’m interested in your perspectives. What do you do in your workplace to tackle toxic productivity? Are there things your managers are doing to help with this?