Most professionals assume that putting in extra effort leads to better results. But new research suggests the relationship between effort and performance is more complicated — and that trying harder can sometimes leave you performing worse.
A series of studies involving hundreds of workers in France and the UK looked at what happens to the brain when employees actively try to improve how they do their jobs. Researchers measured 'task proactivity' — the deliberate attempt to redesign work processes, such as creating checklists or modifying routines to work more efficiently. The findings were surprising: on days when workers spent time on these improvement efforts, their cognitive performance dropped measurably by the end of the day. They showed reduced memory, slower thinking, and greater difficulty concentrating — even after researchers accounted for sleep quality, overall workload, and stress.
The reason comes down to how the brain handles familiar versus unfamiliar tasks. When we repeat an activity many times — think of learning to drive a car — it gradually becomes automatic, freeing up mental energy for other demands. Established routines work the same way. But when workers try to identify problems or experiment with new approaches, they engage the brain's more energy-intensive processes. Once those cognitive resources are depleted, the brain has less capacity left for focused work later in the day.
This does not mean proactivity is bad. Taking initiative can make work feel more meaningful, keep employees engaged, and improve long-term adaptability. The problem is timing and volume. When improvement efforts are poorly scheduled or unrelenting, the cognitive costs can outweigh the short-term gains.
The practical takeaway is to treat improvement work as a managed resource. Scheduling process-improvement tasks during peak mental energy hours — typically the morning — or separating them from other cognitively demanding work can help. Recovery also matters: short breaks, physical movement, and mindfulness practices can help restore cognitive energy after intensive improvement work. Organizations that want a culture of continuous improvement need to build in space for experimentation and recovery, not just expect workers to optimize processes on top of a full workload.
The research reframes a common workplace assumption: working smarter is not simply a matter of working harder. It also means knowing when the brain needs to coast — and protecting enough mental energy to actually perform well when it counts.
