Some (but thankfully fewer) managers believe that you increase the productivity of employees by driving them harder. increasing their workload and punishing mistakes. Nowadays, most managers know that getting results is more of a balance between 'driving' and 'caring', ensuring that hard-working staff are not overworked, burnt-out or increasingly anxious about their work.
We need to increase output and productivity without damaging - or indeed, breaking - our employees.
Simple 'time and motion' or work-study men (for they were almost exclusively men) from 50 years ago built 'rest and recovery' periods into the times allocated for specific tasks. The 'harder' (more demanding) the work, the greater the recovery time allowed. The advantage of this approach is that the recovery time was built in - it wasn't given on the whim of the supervisor.
Employees should be encouraged to take 'mini' or even 'micro' breaks during the day - taking a few deep breaths, walking, taking a 'water cooler' moment, etc.
We should also make sure employees have time for focused work - free of (formal or informal) meetings, perhaps with a 'ban' on phone calls.Some organisations provide 'focus rooms' or spaces where people can get sway from their own desk and local environment.
Such small changes mean we give staff the opportunity to recover from their hard work, to feel better about themselves, their work - and the organisation.
They become more productive.
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