06th July 2026
The Hidden Cost of Fake Urgency at Work
Modern workplaces often confuse urgency with productivity, creating cultures where everything feels like a priority. This article argues that manufactured urgency erodes trust, weakens decision-making, damages wellbeing and reduces performance. Sustainable success comes from clarity, focus and calm leadership rather than constant pressure and reactive working.
This article was written by Matthew Fray and published in Quartz.
Modern work is largely defined by speed, constant connectivity, and an expectation of prompt responsiveness..
It’s a condition that has intensified post-pandemic.
But much of this activity is “fake” urgency. There’s often no actual high-stakes deadline. The urgency is manufactured by managers or clients who say they want something delivered fast, and may or may not get to it once the work is submitted.
Fake urgency looks like initiative, but creates unnecessary fire drills for individuals and teams operating in a continuous state of overwhelm, stress, and eventual burnout, according to research from Harvard Business School and Harvard Business Review.
Urgency can be a potent leadership lever to pull. Urgency creates activity and can bring people and teams together. The problem, per usual, is nuance and context. When everything starts to feel urgent, the insidious effects of hurrying sprout up: teams stop thinking, stop prioritizing effectively, and eventually will lose trust in whoever or whatever is sending out the urgency signal.
Real vs. false urgency
Real urgency is “specific, scarce, and tied to a meaningful business consequence,” said Sarah Vancini, a marketing executive at Stories with Substance, where she specializes in B2B marketing for Fortune 500 clients.
“Fake urgency is vague, constant, and usually shows up when a leader is trying to compensate for weak planning, unclear priorities, or anxiety at the top,” Vancini said.
Running a business is metaphorically like running a marathon, not a sprint, said Mike Grossman, a six-time Silicon Valley CEO, and author of the book Failure is an Option, launching in June.
“If everything is an emergency, then nothing is an emergency,” Grossman said. “You need to go fast, but your speed and intensity need to be sustainable over a long period of time.
Pulling urgency levers as a business leader is almost never the right call, Grossman said, citing exceptions:
- Risk of missing payroll
- Security breach
- Loss of a major client
- A company-defining strategic deal (like M&A)
“These are the moments when tremendous urgency is required,” he said. “But even then it’s important to stay calm and clear. Having people run around with their hair on fire is never a productive approach.”
The source of false urgency
False urgency often reflects a genuine desire to succeed but is typically rooted in anxiety, according to Harvard Business Review.
Leaders worry about the perception of their performance, disappointing stakeholders, and missing opportunities.
“Urgency is a leadership tool, not a leadership style,” said Rick Elmore, founder and CEO of Simply Noted, a direct mail and personalization platform. “When you weaponize it — making every Slack $WORK 0.00% message a five-alarm fire, every deadline existential — you train your team to stop believing you.”
Elmore draws a distinction between “market urgency” and “manufactured urgency,” he said.
Market urgency is “real external pressure from a competitor move, a customer moment, or a short window,” he said.
Manufactured urgency “is just anxiety dressed up as leadership,” he said.
Read the full article here: The High Cost of Fake Urgency in the Workplace
