Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: The phenomenon of toxic productivity has become increasingly prevalent among university students due to high academic demands and the culture of social comparison in the digital era, which triggers an unhealthy drive to be relentlessly productive. This study aimed to describe toxic productivity among university students in Manado City. The study employed a quantitative approach with a descriptive research design. The participants consisted of 165 university students from several higher education institutions in North Sulawesi who were enrolled in the second, fourth, and sixth semesters. Data were collected using a Likert-scale questionnaire and analyzed using quantitative descriptive analysis. The results showed that the majority of students' toxic productivity was in the moderate category, with 115 students (70%), while 27 students (16%) were in the high category and 23 students (14%) were in the low category. Based on the measured aspects, working beyond one's personal capacity was predominantly in the moderate category (65%), followed by excessively high expectations or standards (64%) and feelings of guilt about resting (72%). The most prominent item in the first aspect concerned experiencing stress and burnout due to academic activities; the second concerned the perceived need to be more productive than others; and the third concerned continuing to think about deadlines while attempting to rest. These findings indicate that toxic productivity among university students in North Sulawesi is generally at a moderate level and is primarily reflected in the tendency to push oneself beyond personal limits, maintain high productivity standards, and experience difficulty disengaging from academic demands during rest.
Source: Psikoislamedia Jurnal Psikologi
Institution: Institut Agama Islam Negeri Manado
Language: English
Topic: Stress and Burnout Research
Subfield: Social Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7224942448