I'm breaking up with productivity
Book Cover: Small is Beautiful

I'm breaking up with productivity

Our society is obsessed with productivity. Economic value and return are placed above all else. At the expense of the human experience and the planets health.

Many are working so hard - for what?

Modern day slavery is defined as coercion and exploitation of people in vulnerable circumstances for commercial gain. How long will it be until Modern day MENTAL slavery is upon us? If it’s not already.

At this time of year – end of financial year where I live in Australia – the spotlight is on returns, tax and profit.

I wonder. Maybe this time. We could be looking at additional alternative measures to look at the health of our communities, workplaces and systems.

Financial health isn’t to be dismissed, just balanced.

This message isn’t new. Bhutan's former Prime Minister, Tshering Tobgay is a keen thinker of measuring happiness first, and his belief that people will respect and care for their environment more is evident.

Kate Raworth authored the Doughnut Economic theory to show we don’t have to take more than we need and there will be enough for everyone in a new economic model.

I’ve heard people in my network say things like “I tried to find a few micro-break moments in my day today” my friend was so tired he could hardly stay awake for dinner.

It’s not ok. We all need to re-prioritise what constitutes what this so-called productivity gives us. Because the rich are getting richer and everyone else is just tired making them rich.

It’s causing a society of grabbing, scrambling, protecting and incessant noise about all the wrong things.

STOP COLLABORATE and LISTEN. I mean perhaps 90’s rapper Vanilla Ice was onto something. Actually, he was. He was seen as an imposter in the rap world. But he loved it so much he carried on in his lane and became accepted by many OG’s of rap and sparked a new racial norm.

Regardless, I like his song instructions. Where can we all take more than a breath and see the bigger picture. Read up on alternative measures. Alternative outcomes that illuminate what could be a better life for all.

Take time to insist on your own health, and on others in your environment too. Let’s not pursue mental slavery for the sake of this insane inequity of financial wealth. This takes gumption and swimming against the tide. A little will go a long way.

Small Is Beautiful: A Study of Economics as if People Mattered?by E. F. Schumacher is great place to start with his challenging the current state of excessive consumption in our society.?This could be another good place to start.



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Jeremy Robinson, LSSBB

Continuous Improvement Leader | Relentlessly Pursuing Improvements that Benefit Organizations and Humans | Management Systems Expert | Leadership Coach | Change Facilitator

11 个月

The concepts discussed in your post have similar themes to the ideas we explore at Human CI. We are exploring the concept of aligning Humanity’s power for it’s greater good, specifically by looking at how organizations define success and value. We argue that in order for organizations to succeed long term, they must not be at odds with their employees, the community, and environment. We need a new way to think about and measure if we are on the right track for long term success. Check out some of our latest posts and join the conversation! https://www.dhirubhai.net/company/human-ci/?viewAsMember=true

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I read "Silent Spring" in 1962 when I was ten and it has been nearly all downhill since then . .? There have been some nice ideas along the way but now there is certainly not enough time left for the needed, revolutionary, change to the world economic system ie spending $2T a year on spreading mind into the rest of the galaxy instead of destroying ourselves by spending it on the war machine. The only thing that matters now is the World’s Last (as far as Humans are concerned) Mass Extinction [TWLME] - which is actually, UNARGUABLY happening and accelerating. Almost certainly what we will have instead is: Business As Usual [BAU] => The Military Industrial Financial Intelligence Media Complex [MIFIMC] will continue to grow => TWLME will continue to accelerate => BAU . . eventually leading to the inevitable conclusion of the TWLME - probably in single digit years.

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Steven Hambleton

I design and build responsive, accessible and fully editable email templates that look amazing and work in all email clients..

1 年

I can recommend Company of One by Paul Jarvis - https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/company-of-one-paul-jarvis/1127659324

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Kathryn Gower

Business Analysis | Process Design | Training | Utilities | SAP

1 年

I think we are productively removing from our lives all it means to be human. Sure there is a place for being efficient and effective and working out what shortcuts can be taken. But we are human not machines. And humans need a break, need downtime that may not look productive at the time and need time to socialise at the water cooler / coffee machine. Thanks for sharing Suzanne. It’s and important thought for all those who promote wellbeing and balance.

David Robinson

Operational Technology Policy writer for ISO-27001 compliance

1 年

It’s really simple, you always have a choice in life: You can follow the crowd and expect the same result as they have, or you can prioritise your health and mental well-being above anything else. I have nearly always been lucky enough to be able to listen to my body and change my life accordingly. You really don’t need a LinkedIn post to tell you this stuff, you just need to make the right priorities in life. You and your immediate family matter more than anything else so wake up and start to live right. It helps to be reminded now and then to stay on track, and for those who are yet to find the right priorities I say; don’t wait for the right time to act - make the move today. Life is to precious and too short to waste another day.

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