Created with Sketch. Think about your work ethic during the pandemic. Have you been more productive than usual? Do you rush to volunteer for projects at work, even when your plate is already full? Do you promise to make dinner as soon as you finish “one last thing” on your to-do list? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, you might be suffering from toxic productivity. What, you ask? How can productivity, that time-honored marker of success, be toxic? We’re here to explain. In many ways, “toxic productivity” is just a buzzy new term for workaholism ― but it’s also a little more nuanced than that old-school phrase. Toxic productivity is essentially an unhealthy desire to be productive at all times, at all costs. It’s the need to go the “extra mile” at work or at home, even when it’s not expected of you.