I have some thoughts on this, particularly in a work setting.

It's the productivity metrics for a lot of people, in regards to that dread of going to work.

We can thank Bezos for that predominantly. Particularly the psychological aspect of manipulating people to chase rates or always top their highest rate then ding them on quality.

In training and teaching, things are presented as catastrophic consequences if you make a mistake far too often. For example, where I work, newbies are routinely terrorized out of the ability to convert from one time zone to another for fear of being fined a half million dollars. It really is something. I had a list today where I had correct and coach and somebody cried because Arizona doesn't do daylight savings time except for some of the Rez areas and it's not "fair". Literally cried.

A couple of months ago, somebody had a meltdown because when something gets scheduled for today at 2200 hrs in Arizona that means it happens tomorrow at 0000 hrs in New York, but in a month, it will be a month plus a day at 0100 hrs.

This is 3rd grade level stuff but that fear of being financially devastated is absolutely paralyzing.

It's kind of like this everywhere now, you know? The pressure to perform is artificially ramped up in so many ways, mostly nonsensical.

I've got about 5 people on my team that are going to burn out quick because they can't calm down, regulate (read ignore) the drive to hit metrics, and manage their time without stress. I can't wait to go back to data monitoring. I hate babysitting.

Another thing. People aren't getting enough sleep.