LIFESTYLE
What To Know About Productivity Paranoia
By MASIE O'TOOLE
What Is Productivity Paranoia?
In remote work environments, employers cannot monitor their employee’s activity levels, leading to an endless stream of communication to ensure tasks are being completed.
Employees can feel pressured to reply to messages immediately, even outside of work hours. This doesn’t create a trusting environment, and leads to high stress levels.
How It Impacts Managers
Remote work takes trust and clear expectations, so if a manager is lacking those things, it's a surefire way to begin spiraling and assuming the worst of their employees.
An obsession with what your employees are doing at every moment is not healthy. It often leads to the desire to exert increasing control over every aspect of their work and time.
How It Impacts Workers
This phenomenon can cause employees to experience unnecessarily increased workloads, a need to constantly prove themselves, and a general decrease in confidence and self-esteem.
Productivity paranoia can make employees feel like they always have to be available, even during their off hours. That can quickly lead to burnout and decrease their productivity.