You know the guy. He’s the one who turns a simple five-slide weekly update into a 40-page deck with custom animations and a soundtrack. He doesn't just answer an email; he writes a manifesto. This is the phenomenon of overkill men at work, a specific brand of professional performance that blends genuine ambition with a frantic need to prove worth through sheer volume. It’s exhausting. Honestly, it’s often counterproductive too.
We’ve all been there, or at least sat in a meeting with someone who is. They treat every task like it's the Super Bowl. While high standards are great, there’s a massive difference between "excellence" and "overkill." One gets the job done beautifully; the other creates a bottleneck of unnecessary data and performative labor.
Why the overkill men at work trend is actually hurting offices
The term "overkill" implies something unnecessary. In the context of the modern workplace, it usually refers to the "Hero Complex." Research from organizations like the American Psychological Association (APA) has long suggested that men, in particular, often feel a societal pressure to tie their masculinity to "provider" or "conqueror" roles. This translates into the office as a need to dominate the task at hand.
It’s about visibility.
If you’re doing "just enough," even if that "enough" is exactly what was requested, you might feel invisible. So, you over-deliver. You stay until 9:00 PM when the project was finished at 4:00 PM. You add three more layers of approval to a process that worked fine with one. According to a 2023 study by Slack’s Workforce Lab, nearly 43% of desk workers feel pressure to "show" they are working rather than actually being productive. For many men, this performative productivity—or overkill—becomes a shield against layoffs or perceived inadequacy.
But here is the kicker: it’s incredibly annoying for everyone else. When one person operates in "overkill mode," it sets an unsustainable baseline. It forces coworkers to either ramp up their own unnecessary output or risk looking like they aren't trying. It’s a race to the bottom of the burnout barrel.
The psychology of "The Most"
Why do we do this? It isn't just about being a "try-hard."
Cognitive psychologists often point toward Impoverished Feedback Loops. In many modern corporate jobs, the actual "output" is intangible. You aren't building a house or harvesting grain; you're moving data. Without a physical result to point to, many men fall into the trap of overkill to create a sense of tangible achievement. If the report is heavy, it must be important. If I’m stressed, I must be valuable.
Dr. Brené Brown has spoken extensively about "perfectionism" as a 20-ton shield. We carry it around thinking it will protect us, when in fact it’s the thing preventing us from being seen or working efficiently. Overkill men at work are often just perfectionists in a suit. They are terrified that if they do the "standard" amount, they will be found lacking.
Examples of overkill in the wild
- The Meeting Monster: Scheduling a 90-minute "sync" for a topic that could have been a three-sentence Slack message.
- The CC Collector: Adding the VP, the CEO, and the janitor to an email thread about a broken printer just to show "initiative."
- The Data Dumper: Providing 15 spreadsheets of raw data when the boss asked for a summary of the top three trends.
- The Weekend Warrior: Sending non-urgent emails at 11:00 PM on a Saturday to signal "dedication," despite it making everyone else feel guilty or annoyed.
The cost of doing too much
Let's talk about the Law of Diminishing Returns. In economics, this is the point where the level of profits or benefits gained is less than the amount of money or energy invested.
If you spend 10 hours on a project that requires 2 hours of work to be "perfect," those extra 8 hours are a waste. They are worse than a waste; they are an opportunity cost. You could have spent those 8 hours on a different project, or—God forbid—resting so you don't collapse next month. Forbes has reported on the "productivity theater" epidemic, noting that it costs companies billions in lost real-time innovation because everyone is too busy pretending to be the hardest worker in the room.
Overkill also kills creativity. When you are focused on the volume of work, you lose the nuance of work. You're so busy filling up the bucket that you don't notice the bucket has a hole in it.
How to dial it back without losing your edge
If you suspect you might be one of the overkill men at work, don't panic. You don't have to become a slacker. You just have to become a "right-sizer."
The first step is radical honesty. Ask yourself: "Am I doing this for the project, or am I doing this so people see me doing it?" If it's the latter, stop.
- Define "Done": Before starting a task, ask your manager or your team exactly what success looks like. If they say "a one-page summary," do not give them two pages. Giving them two pages isn't "going above and beyond"; it's failing to follow instructions.
- The 80/20 Rule: Focus on the 20% of the work that drives 80% of the results. Usually, the "overkill" happens in that final 20% of effort that only yields 2% of the results.
- Audit Your Calendar: Look at your meetings. If you are the one calling them, try cutting the time in half. If you can’t get it done in 30 minutes, you aren't prepared enough.
- Value Results Over Hours: Shift your mindset. A genius who solves a problem in 10 minutes is more valuable than a "hero" who spends 10 hours doing it the hard way.
Breaking the cycle
Management plays a huge role here. If leaders reward the guy who stays late and sends the longest emails, they are subsidizing overkill. They are essentially paying for inefficiency. High-performing cultures should reward impact, not activity.
Real experts know that the most impressive people in the room are usually the ones who make the complex look simple, not the ones who make the simple look complex. Overkill is a mask for insecurity. True professional confidence is the ability to do exactly what is needed, at a high level, and then go home.
Actionable steps for the "Recovering Overkiller"
Stop equating your "busyness" with your "business value." Start by setting hard boundaries on your communication. If it’s after 6:00 PM, don't send that email. Save it in your drafts. Sending it doesn't make you a better worker; it makes you a worse communicator who doesn't respect boundaries.
Next, practice the "Minimum Viable Product" (MVP) approach for internal tasks. When you have a new idea, present the "sketched" version first. Get feedback early. This prevents you from spending forty hours on a "perfect" version that nobody actually wanted.
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Finally, find a hobby that has nothing to do with your career. Often, men fall into the overkill trap because they have nothing else to measure their progress by. If you’re training for a 5k or learning to wood-work, the "need to win" at your desk starts to feel a lot less desperate.
The goal isn't to care less. It's to care better. Overkill is just noise. High-impact work is music. Learn the difference, and your career—and your coworkers—will thank you.