- Karen Ho's 2006 ethnography 'Liquidated' revealed how Wall Street bankers derive self-worth from productivity, viewing it as addictive and seductive.
- Historical office technologies promised to ease work but instead compelled workers to do more, setting new productivity standards without reducing labor.
- Automation de-skilled workers by replacing their physical knowledge with quantified data, shifting power to managers and causing resentment.
- Workers reported feeling like 'rats in a cage' due to technology that increased physical strain and reduced autonomy, while health issues like migraines and eye strain emerged.
- Productivity culture mandates that efficiency gains lead to more tasks, not less work, benefiting only a few while exhausting the majority.
- The pandemic work-from-home environment intensified burnout, leading to a resurgence in anti-hustle culture, union support, and movements like The Nap Ministry.
- Collective rejection of endless growth and infinite productivity is necessary to prevent widespread breakdown, as individual resistance is insufficient.