Rethink Work

Changing how we think about work

#Productivism

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Productivism is a societal ideology that prioritizes productivity and growth as the ultimate goals. It is often associated with an anthropocentric model where nature is viewed as serving human society by providing natural assets such as water, air, food, and fossil energy.

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  • faviconAndré Gorz Was the Theorist Who Predicted the Revolt Against Meaningless Work — We have to get rid of the productivist ideology of work, as it’s not a natural thing with inherent value [2023]
    In: Good life    
    Topics: Productivism, Workism   
    Comments   
    Source: Jacobin    

  • faviconYou aren’t lazy. You just need to slow down — The idea of laziness has been effectively and expertly wielded to make people feel unproductive and unworthy. It’s a lie, and a trap that makes us believe there’s always more we could be doing — at work, in our relationships, at home — and that worth is productivity [2021]
    In: Good life    
    Topics: How to be Human, Productivism   
    Comments   
    Source: NPR    

  • faviconYour Worth Is Not Your Productivity — From the draconian Poor Laws of the nineteenth century to today’s workfare conditions, governments have consistently used benefits as a tool to discipline those deemed to be ‘idle’ [2025]
    In: Good life    
    Topics: Productivism, Protestant Work Ethic   
    Comments   
    Country: UK   
    Source: Tribune    

  • faviconThe Tyranny of Work or Why Are we Still Measured by Our Productivity? — The fixation on economic inactivity assumes that the wage relation is the only meaningful form of labour, that those who are not officially employed are doing nothing of value. But as Fortunati shows, capitalism has always relied on unpaid labour [2025]
    In: Predatory capitalism    
    Topics: Productivism, Protestant Work Ethic   
    Comments   
    Country: UK   
    Source: anti capitalist musings    

  • faviconWe Are All Charlie Chaplin on the Assembly Line — The most lasting legacy of Taylorism is that it divested workers of their individual control over the production process and the perpetual feeling of being a minor human cog in a vast unknowable machine [2019]
    In: Predatory capitalism    
    Topics: Productivism   
    Comments   
    Source: ZNetwork    

  • faviconWhy I was wrong to be optimistic about robots — Dehumanisation and intensification of work is not inevitable. But a different outcome will require different choices and a different distribution of power in the workplace [2021]
    In: Democracy & Power    
    Topics: Productivism, Technofeudalism   
    Comments   
    Source: Financial Times    

  • faviconProductivity culture and technology has been very successful at making us working more, not less. And with millions either quitting their jobs or having to work from home, this is the time we should capitalize on this moment for the good of workers, not the bosses [2021]
    In: Good life    
    Topics: Productivism, Technofeudalism   
    Comments   
    Source: The Guardian    

  • faviconGreece’s forced six-day workweek exploits workers and will leave the economy worse off in the long run. The policy, pushed by market fundamentalists and driven by economic pressures, and an aging population, serves as a cautionary tale for global labor. Workers in other nations should take this as a lesson and preemptively refuse to follow suit [2024]
    In: Working hours    
    Topics: Productivism, Worker Rights   
    Comments   
    Country: GR   
    Source: Jacobin    

  • faviconThe workers have spoken: They’re staying home. Companies might want people’s rumps back in office chairs, but according to a recent Gartner report, 48% of employees say their company’s mandates prioritize what leaders want rather than what employees need to do good work [2024]
    In: Good life    
    Topics: Productivism, Remote Working   
    Comments   
    Source: Computerworld    

  • faviconYour boss is obsessed with productivity without knowing what it means – That’s poor ground to stand on when trying to revoke remote work [2023]
    In: Predatory capitalism    
    Topics: Productivism, Remote Working   
    Comments   
    Source: Vox