By Ashwin Rajah, founder of Mindset Matters
Human Rights Day reminds South Africans to reflect on constitutional rights such as human dignity and fair labour practices. One place where these rights face daily pressure is the workplace.
Public discussion often focuses on how people live. Far less attention falls on how people work. In South Africa many employees already face economic pressure, job insecurity and rising living costs. At the same time, the demands of work continue to grow.
Workplace pressure in a connected world
In many workplaces the working day has become fragmented across meetings, messages, emails, dashboards and deadlines. These demands keep employees mentally switched on from morning to evening.
When focused work does not happen during the day, employees often continue working after hours. The boundary between work and personal time becomes unclear. When this pattern repeats daily, strain accumulates even while people believe they are performing well.
Research shows rising levels of stress, burnout and disengagement across South African workplaces. According to Gallup’s 2024 data, 36% of employees report daily stress and more than 70% describe themselves as disengaged at work.
Technology and the pace of modern work
Over the past three decades organisations have built faster and more connected systems through advancing technology. Work now moves at extraordinary speed, with teams coordinating instantly across time zones and expectations of responsiveness steadily increasing.
Artificial intelligence is accelerating this shift further. AI automates tasks, processes vast amounts of information and increases the speed at which organisations operate and adapt.
People, however, do not function like systems that operate continuously without pause.
Modern work has been structured around the speed of technology rather than a pace that allows people to concentrate, make decisions and maintain energy throughout the day. As technology becomes more powerful, the gap continues to widen.
Human performance requires balance
Human performance relies on rhythm. People sustain pressure when periods of effort are balanced with recovery.
Most people are not conditioned to operate under continuous strain. When natural pauses disappear through constant interruption, continuous responsiveness and rising expectations, the mind and body struggle to maintain performance.
When people begin to struggle, the issue is often framed as a personal development problem. Employees are expected to build resilience or manage stress more effectively. Support often appears only after performance declines and mistakes begin to surface.
Workplace structure shapes employee wellbeing
Responsibility, deadlines and accountability form part of meaningful work. Yet workplace strain is often shaped by the environment employees work in.
Organisations often describe culture as the factor that shapes behaviour at work. In reality, daily pressures, expectations and how work is structured determine what people are able to achieve.
When these conditions clash with organisational expectations, sustained performance becomes difficult. Employees then begin to feel as though they are failing despite consistent effort.
The cost of work-related stress
When pressure remains constant, the impact spreads beyond the individual.
Organisations begin to see declining engagement, increased staff turnover, frequent absenteeism and reduced productivity. Work-related stress therefore affects both employees and organisational performance.
Addressing this challenge does not require slowing business down or reducing expectations. Modern organisations still need to remain responsive and competitive.
Rethinking workplace culture
The opportunity lies in organising work in ways that allow employees to sustain performance over time.
This shift also changes how organisations understand culture. Culture emerges from how work is done, particularly during periods of pressure. It is shaped by what employees experience daily and what organisations ultimately accept.
When work environments allow employees to perform effectively under pressure, healthier workplace patterns begin to develop.
Human responsibility in an AI-driven workplace
Employees perform better when expectations are realistic, when they influence how they approach their work, and when the environment provides clarity and support during change.
These conditions will become even more important as technology continues to accelerate the pace and complexity of work.
Artificial intelligence does not remove humans from the workplace. Instead, it changes their role.
AI automates tasks, but human responsibility remains central. As systems grow more interconnected, employees increasingly interpret information, apply judgement and make decisions.
This type of work requires focus, clear thinking and sustained mental energy.
Human rights and the future of work
Human Rights Day should encourage deeper reflection on workplace environments where employees can thrive both mentally and physically.
When organisations create conditions that support energy, focus and clear thinking, both employees and organisations benefit.
Work should challenge people without damaging their wellbeing. Employees should complete their work with the mental space and energy to live the rest of their lives beyond the workplace.
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