The Myth of Infinite Productivity

Workforce productivity is deteriorating and we are approaching a critical juncture, much like the gravitational threshold of a black hole. Companies are stretching their resources to a breaking point, driven by a misguided belief that they can perpetually extract more work from fewer and increasingly exhausted employees. The core issue lies in a series of misguided corporate maneuvers—first, mass layoffs, then frantic rehiring of ill-suited talent, followed by another round of layoffs, and finally, the hasty adoption of AI-driven automation. This cycle has not only obliterated productivity gains but has pushed workforces to their limits, both emotionally and operationally.

To understand this crisis more profoundly, we can draw a useful parallel from the physics of black holes. As matter approaches the event horizon, it accelerates exponentially but ultimately succumbs to the inescapable pull of the singularity—a point where space, time, and the laws of physics as we know them break down. Corporations today, in their relentless quest for hyper-efficiency, might be inadvertently racing toward their own productivity event horizon. They believe there exists some theoretical state of maximum productivity—an optimal point where fewer employees, armed with better tools and AI , can accomplish infinite work.

This belief, however, is not only flawed but dangerous. The human capacity for labor and creativity is not a black hole singularity; there is no infinite point of productivity beyond which more effort results in greater returns. Instead, as we push closer to this perceived boundary, we encounter the limits of human endurance. Employees are burning out, disengaging, and becoming increasingly disillusioned with workplaces that demand ever more but give less in return.

Consider the hiring practices many companies have adopted. In a frantic response to economic pressures and fears of recession, businesses have swung wildly between over-hiring and downsizing. They've brought in swathes of employees who lack the skills necessary to meet the demands of their roles. This leaves those with the requisite expertise overburdened, tasked with not only their own work but also with compensating for their colleagues' inadequacies. What we see is a doubling of labor expectations for a shrinking and demoralized talent pool, a surefire recipe for collapse.

And yet, companies continue to exacerbate the issue by turning to automation and AI, hoping that these technologies will be the salvation that carries them across the productivity horizon. But AI, while powerful, cannot replace the nuanced decision-making, creativity, and emotional intelligence that drive true business innovation. It is not a panacea for poorly managed workforces or short-sighted hiring practices.

In reality, AI is accelerating a crisis of talent, as the skills needed to work alongside these technologies are not adequately developed in the current workforce, further complicating productivity issues.

The gravitational analogy is useful here: as organizations near their productivity event horizon, they are increasingly trapped in a cycle where the forces pulling them toward collapse are stronger than any initiatives to escape it. There is no "optimal" productivity singularity where AI, automation, and a diminished workforce will combine to create an infinitely efficient operation. Instead, like a black hole's event horizon, the closer we get to this point, the more catastrophic the consequences of ignoring the human factors that underpin productivity.

Organizations must recognize the physical and mental limits of their workforce . They must stop treating employees as expendable assets to be optimized into oblivion. Instead of viewing productivity as a lemon to be squeezed dry, companies need to pivot toward a model that prioritizes balance, realistic expectations, and human well-being.

There is no shortcut, no magic formula, no technological singularity that will allow businesses to bypass the hard work of properly engaging and empowering their workforce.

In the final analysis, the current trajectory—driven by mass layoffs, hiring inefficiencies, and an early over-reliance on automation—leads only to entropy and dissolution. True long-term productivity is not an infinite wellspring; it requires investment in people, thoughtful allocation of resources, and a recognition that human talent, unlike matter drawn into a black hole, cannot be endlessly compressed without disastrous consequences.

Michael Beygelman is Executive Vice President of Product at WilsonHCG . He founded Claro Analytics , which was acquired by WilsonHCG in 2022.?