Ashish KothariMake flourishing your competitive edge

The problem isn't your people, it's the SYSTEM

12 Oct 2026 · 1 min

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1:11

In this short presentation, Ashish Kothari argues that most organizations address productivity and burnout by adding individual‑focused solutions—coaching, resilience workshops, well‑being apps—yet these interventions fail because they leave the underlying workplace system unchanged. He cites Oxford’s 2024 research showing wellness programs deliver essentially zero ROI on organizational performance, not due to poor design but because they target individuals rather than systemic factors. He then references a McKinsey Health Institute survey of over 30,000 employees in 30 countries, which found that toxic behavior, unsustainable workloads, and role ambiguity are seven times more predictive of burnout than any benefit an organization can offer. Kothari concludes that without reducing these systemic demands, people will continue to underperform, and the real problem lies in the system, not the people.

Chapters

If your organization has a productivity problem, and most do, the instinct is to add something— a coaching program, a resilience workshop, a new well-being app. That instinct is making it worse. Oxford's 2024 research confirmed that most wellness programs produce zero measurable ROI on organizational performance, not because the programs are bad, but because they are treating the individual while leaving the system completely unchanged. Here is the finding that changes the diagnosis. The McKinsey Health Institute surveyed over 30,000 employees across 30 countries and found that workplace demands like toxic behavior, unsustainable workload, role ambiguity are 7 times more predictive of burnout than any benefit you can offer. 7 times. You could invest in every enabler available, but if the demands are not reduced, Your people will keep underperforming, not because they're not trying, but because the system they work inside will not let them perform. The problem is not the people. The system is the problem.