The irony is that most people can only produce about one hour of real work a day, if they are young and attentive. They cannot be forced, bribed, or motivated to do more. They just *can't*. It is not sustainable for more than a week or two at most.
And even when you get someone who tries to force their own productivity, no one else in the system can deal with their increased production, so it log jams, and the end result is that the slowest person in the chain will dictate productivity.
Into this situation are people who are utterly convinced that they *can* get vast amounts of work out of other people, *and* that it will be productive work, not just busy work. Such people are as addicted to that idea as much as those who play the lottery are addicted to that game. And with less chance of success.
I got to experience the apex of productivity in a disciplined office, and indeed it was highly effective, but utterly repulsive to the business system. Employees were instructed to stay away and take care of family business unless they were "feeling productive", based on their own opinion. When they were at work they were left strictly alone.
Employees came and left at odd hours, sometimes very early in the morning or late at night, and even on weekends. They usually stayed for an hour or less, but were at their peak productivity during that undisturbed time.
In short order, six months of management backlog had been turned into six months of advance planning, almost a year of work in just a month.
We were ordered to discontinue the programme, as the extra work had both created an administrative nightmare at our higher headquarters, and it made other branches look sluggish.
As a reward, we were all required to be in the office during regular office hours, be interfered with by others, shuffle useless memos and such. The system was restored to balance, and we spent the next six months productively doing nothing productive, until we were back on a push schedule.
This is probably true in an office environment to some level. Yet, when I owned and ran a restaurant in my twenties, you either jammed or didn't in the hours one was employed or they were simply 'outa there'. I've given a lot of "you're outa here" talks in my life.
Thus there are some jobs you can't afford to slack or you're done. I am usually successful in those environments, as I love to work and jam. But I also like loads of down time. I used to give my workers generous time off and bonuses and if they were sick, I let them take as much time, even a little more if they wanted it for mental health time or just family play time. I planned on it ahead of time when I scheduled of course. I benefitted as well as my workers.
So somehow I guess it all works out for everyone. I am a freelancer now and run my own show, just for that reason. I can't stand sitting in a chair acting as though I am working. I'd rather be slashing my wrists. I guess knowing where one is at their best helps to pick the right sort of career for oneself.