Toxic productivity in the impact sector: When will we stop?
Martha D. Karimi
Social Innovation I Strategy I Organization Design I Leadership I Film-Maker
Hey ya’all!
I have been reflecting a lot lately about toxic productivity, especially in the impact sector. Let me just say, I am tired. There lives rent free in my brain, hundreds of stories of the most dehumanizing work experiences individuals have shared with me over the last 13 years. I often wonder, is the work we do and how we do it more important than our well being??How does it feel to lead an organization that causes harm to the humans working in it? Does it even feel?
The vortex of burnout and overwork has become so normalized that its gotten harder to imagine a different way of being in our world of work. Basically we are stuck in the toxicity. Which is puzzling. We talk a lot about ‘unintended consequences' to our funders and partners. How to anticipate for them. Measure them. Avoid them, etc. Isn't burnout and mental health depletion of employees the greatest unintended consequence of all time? Is it even unintended anymore?
I am yet to meet an impact organization that is considering the negative impact of toxic productivity on the humans behind the mission. Tracking it, and building human capital systems and culture that truly elevate the wellbeing and potential of their staff. It saddening that while striving to do good, we lose our goodness in the process.
PS: Please if your employer is doing a great job supporting your wellbeing and potential, please tag them here and amplify their efforts. Many like-minded professionals are seeking them!
You sure remember your bright-eyed idealist self when you decided to build your career in impact driven organizations. Focused and mission driven you plugged in with your all. You’d soon realize the jungle was more complex than you could imagine. A place where idealism constantly clashed with reality.
A few years back, a highly accomplished professional shared with me her true thoughts on project management. It is the most non rewarding job. The true cost of making an impact often felt more than she bargained for. The toil, the sacrifices, slow change, rare true appreciation and so on. Not worth it.
In my idealism, I dream of impact organizations as the place where change makers find a safe space to be. A sanctuary of support, rejuvenation, appreciation, and, bigger dreaming. Because the work we do is hard. Yet we find the courage to respond to it every day.
Yet for many reasons, the reality of many impact organizations remains far from this dream. To name but a few, unrewarding exploitation culture of little rewards and unfair compensation, especially if you work for underfunded grassroot organizations and the culture of urgency and 20 hour days are leading traps we've gloriously normalized. As we exhaust our bodies, minds and spirit, we catalyze burnout and our approach to work is impaired.?
We already know systemic change and impactful societal transformation takes time. At least we believe that for our programs. Yet our work approach is overloaded with speed, urgency, and little time to breath. Where are we rushing to? Not to mention it’s in the blank empty spaces where leaders get to clearly see the impact of their work and explore opportunities for innovation and growth. The busy hustling, constant culture only blinds us.
So when will we stop? The leadership from board to executive and middle managers has a significant role to play in answering this question. Begin from a true reflective place. Are you building an organization that is a sanctuary of support, rejuvenation, appreciation and allows bigger dreaming for your team? Consequently allowing your team to thrive and contribute fully to your organization mission?
Or is your culture built to catalyze burnout, mental health breakdown and depreciation of the humans striving to do good in the world?
Over 300 organizations served and I think about this every single day...
Happy Monday!
Martha
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I am a seasoned social impact and communications professional leveraging ESG expertise to lead initiatives that align with global standards, promoting responsible and impactful business practices.
7 个月I once got on an Uber and started to chat with the driver. I learned that he is a finance specialist, who resigned from his work, at an NGO, because his mental health was affected by the toxic productivity culture. He started an Uber business, which, he told me, gave him the peace of mind he wanted. I too have worked in the impact space for a while, and I nodded, to the end of the article, painfully in agreement with you on every word. However, in my current space, I have seen my manager effect a few things that I have found particularly helpful to ensure our team does not get into the swirl of toxic productivity. First, I have consistent and open 1:1 conversations during which my manager and I openly discuss my weekly priorities and areas where I need their support. Secondly, my manager is mindful of my well-being in various ways, like respecting my time off work and checking in to see if the workload is manageable and where/how I can be supported. Mindfully offering me opportunities for growth and learning only if I am open, willing, and ready for them, among other things. The workplace experience largely depends on the environment that immediate supervisors create, despite the overall workplace culture.
In the business of hiring.
7 个月I like what I have seen some eomployers in this space proactively do including mental health days, choosing to ditch WhatsApp as a main means of communication and switching to Slack chat, and even Friday half days once a month. It would be interesting to see some actual research though on how some of these initiatives are balancing things out, if at all…