Gen Z vs office toxicity: Mumbai man says new generation understands the 'hard work' trap that turns efficiency into punishment

Workplace expectations are changing, and a lot of it is being driven by younger professionals who are questioning long-standing ideas around productivity and “going the extra mile.” Conversations around burnout, unfair workload distribution and office toxicity have picked up pace in recent years. One such post by Mumbai-based professional Nishant Joshi captures a pattern many employees say they have quietly dealt with for years.

When efficiency turns into a burden

In his post shared on LinkedIn, Joshi wrote, “The biggest punishment in the corporate world right now isn't getting a bad review. It is the absolute trap of being a highly reliable employee.” He explained this through the example of his brother’s flatmate, Rahul, who works as a designer at an agency.

Joshi described, “My brother's flatmate Rahul is the fastest designer at his agency. He finishes his daily deliverables by 4 PM while the rest of the team takes until 7 PM.” What should ideally have meant more flexibility for Rahul instead turned into added pressure.


“Instead of letting him log off early, his manager noticed his speed. Now, Rahul gets assigned all the spillover work from the underperforming employees,” he wrote, pointing to how efficiency often leads to extra responsibility rather than recognition.

More work, not more reward

The imbalance became more visible during appraisal discussions. Joshi shared that Rahul raised the issue, expecting that the additional workload would be acknowledged. However, the response he received was not what he had hoped for.

“During his review, he asked for a raise since he was doing double the volume. His manager smiled and said this is just part of being a good team player.”

Reflecting on the incident, Joshi said, “When he told me this, the absolute toxicity of the system hit me hard.” He added that this is not an isolated case. “In the modern workplace, the only reward for doing great work is just more work.”

He also pointed out the contrast in how different employees are treated. “Companies do not penalize the slow employees who scroll Instagram all day. They actively punish the high performers by dumping the entire department's weight on their shoulders.”

Why Gen Z is stepping back

Connecting this to a broader shift in attitude, Joshi explained why many younger workers are choosing not to overextend themselves. “This is exactly why Gen Z has completely stopped going above and beyond. We are not lazy, we just figured out that being a superstar only buys you a fast track to burnout.”

His post also carried a direct message for leadership teams. “Founders and team leaders need a massive reality check. If you want someone to do the work of three people, you need to pay them three salaries,” he wrote.

He added, “Stop treating your most efficient employees like a free dumping ground for bad management.”

The situation eventually led to a change for Rahul. Joshi shared, “PS: Rahul finally switched to a better agency last month. Now his reward for finishing early is logging off at 5 PM to spend the evening with his family and actually pursue his hobbies, instead of doing someone else's pending PPT.”

Conversations like this are also reflecting a larger shift in how performance is being measured across workplaces. Many organisations are slowly moving towards outcome-based evaluation instead of tracking hours spent at a desk, though the transition is uneven. At the same time, employees are becoming more vocal about setting boundaries, whether it is logging off on time, refusing unrealistic deadlines, or questioning uneven workload distribution within teams.