Nearly a century later, the ghosts of that machine continue to haunt our workplaces. While startups often pride themselves on being forward-thinking, too many still unconsciously adopt this rigid, mechanical approach to productivity. How did we get here and how can startups break the cycle?

A brief history of ‘factory line’ thinking

The factory line famously revolutionised manufacturing. Each person had their job, each station its precise task, each motion perfectly designed to maximise efficiency, reduce costs and streamline output.

Due to its success and mass appeal – its simplicity, scalability and ability to drive immediate, measurable results – the system became the cornerstone of modern productivity thinking, embedding itself into management philosophies across multiple industries.

But while this approach works well for mass production, most businesses don’t look anything like Ford’s assembly line. The inflexible nature of this model does not reflect the complexities of modern work, especially in knowledge-based and creative sectors where time spent, or rigid specialisation doesn’t necessarily equate to output.

Yet, its influence persists. In turn, contributing (I would argue) to the stagnant productivity rates that have impacted the UK economy since the global financial crisis.

In large organisations, shifting away from this entrenched mindset can be incredibly challenging, as it is baked into their culture and systems. But for startups, however, the opportunity is different. They have the opportunity to set up their operations with intention, avoiding the pitfalls of outdated productivity myths. But this requires a conscious effort to rethink how work is structured, measured and rewarded and the bravery to go against grain.

Most businesses don’t start out by thinking about what structure and culture would best serve their goal. Understandably they’re focused on their product and their service and not immediately going bust. But they neglect it at a detriment to their long-term success. All too often the tensions and issues appear when they try to scaleup, at which point it is much harder to address.

Why the factory line mentality falls flat in modern workplaces

Creative work thrives on flexibility, not the number of hours logged

Creativity and problem-solving – two skills identified by the World Economic Forum’s 2023 Future of Jobs report as the most critical for the future and two skills that are integral for any agile startup culture - do not directly correspond to time spent.

Sure, carving out time to be creative can help, but sometimes we have our most creative ideas in the shower or on walks, where our subconscious has the opportunity to piece things together.

Now, don’t take this as me saying we should do away with working hours or boundaries…

In fact, ‘the grind’ – a mindset often glamourised in startup culture – can stifle it. Research, like the work conducted around the 4-day work week, showed that an extra day off increased productivity, reduced burnout and increased overall wellbeing. Meanwhile, the rigid ‘more hours = more output’ approach has been shown to lead to burnout, lower productivity and diminishing returns.

Time-based billing punishes efficiency

Many organisations, especially in services or consultancy models, still rely on time-based billing. This framework incentivises hours worked, instead of outcomes achieved. Employees end up overworking to prove their value, while clients overpay for inefficiencies.

This classic question from freelancers points out the issue: “Is it more valuable to you that I complete your task in half the time, or double the time?” Obviously if you get to the solution in half the time it is more valuable – but most business models don’t account for this.

On top of this, most employees are ‘punished’ for working smarter by being given more work to fill the time – which, to the point above, gradually degrades the effectiveness of their work and their motivation to work smarter in the future.

Misaligned incentives lead to misguided solutions

Business leaders often fail to understand what employees actually want, and when faced with declining engagement or performance, many companies double down on transactional solutions (like pay raises) while neglecting structural fixes (such as flexible benefits, mental health support or rethinking how work is done) that address the root problem. Pay bumps might temporarily boost morale, but they don’t address the cause. The result? A misalignment of value creation and compensation, eroding trust and productivity.

How startups can start well

Think intentionally about your structure and systems

Businesses the world over, from banks to charities to startups, default to the same organisational structure. Not only is it crazy to think that one type of structure could serve the varying different needs and aspirations of vastly different companies, but the blueprint they all follow is one that was designed over 100 years ago for a completely different world!

You need your structure, systems and culture to be in alignment with your business objectives. Getting this right from the start is the difference between swimming against the current and swimming with the current.

This isn’t to say that you need to jump on the holocracy hype – a decentralised organisational structure fashionable in the late 2010’s – but be intentional about the structure and systems you introduce and the cultural signals you are sending.

Prioritise outputs over inputs

A real challenge for founders is shifting their mindset away from using bad heuristics to judge productivity that don’t align with actual value generation. Time spent working, time in an office, number of emails sent, number of minutes on a call with a customer. None of these necessarily correlate with value yet they are often the place our brain goes to first.

Assess employee and team performance based on what they achieve, not how long they sit at their desks. Encourage staff autonomy and ownership by setting clear goals and allowing flexibility in how they’re reached. Otherwise you risk encouraging “presenteeism", a culture where people are rewarded for their visibility around the office, not their active contributions.

Ditch the ‘hustle’ mindset

It’s sexy and tempting, I get it. It is a shortcut to entrepreneurial behaviours and has the hallmarks of Silicon Valley success so who doesn’t want to emulate that? Well, firstly, maybe you! Hustle culture emerged out of the valley because of the specific ambition of startups to ‘scale and sell fast’. Is your startup trying to follow that same model? If not, don’t adopt a culture that was designed for a different purpose than yours.

Secondly, there’s a difference between having a hustle mentality at an individual level and it becoming your culture. All too often startups use the hustle mentality as a way to drive motivation amongst employees who don’t have the same stake in the business as founders. I’d go as far as to say this can border on being manipulative in some startups, but it’s also just not an effective way to motivate people who have different circumstances to you. You have to consider their context and motivate accordingly. So, stop rewarding people for demonstrating a hustle mentality, and reward for specific behaviours that are in line with your values and ambitions.

Protect time for deep work and be conscious about connection

Create an environment that minimises distractions and respects time for deep work. Sometimes staff will need a day of uninterrupted time to really get into the weeds of a complex task. Avoid scheduling meetings on these days and consider offering the flexibility to work from home, ensuring they have the space to concentrate without distractions. Consider encouraging asynchronous communication – the exchange of information without being available at the same time – where possible.

And on the flip side, be conscious about how and when you gather together. Whilst sweeping Return to Office mandates are never a good thing, in-person connection and collaboration is often vital. Think about an office as a tool. Email, Zoom, phone calls are all tools. As is a whiteboard, in-person or virtual. A tool's usefulness is entirely context-dependent: you have to decide what challenge you’re aiming to solve before you know what tool you need. Are we solving for collaboration? What about connection? You want to avoid people coming to a shared workspace to simply sit on calls all day.

At the heart of each of these points is a simple principle: be intentional about your culture and the systems you design to uphold it. Don’t adopt a culture or structure that was designed for a different company with a different purpose. Your culture strategy is your business strategy.