(photo by Flickr user Slightly North)

Managers are expecting increasingly robot-like performance from their employees, to the detriment of their personal lives and mental health. But a groundswell is forming to fight back against this trend.

Some advocate an exit from corporate culture, calling for workers to focus on freelance projects. Others push for a change in attitude among managers, urging them to recognize that we are, in fact, humans, with human needs.

Here are some great quotes on the subject from experts at the Harvard Business Review, and others.

“According to America’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, work-related suicides increased 28% between 2007 and 2008. … the problem is deeper and more complicated than a callous management team that cares about nothing except profits. The problem is also in us.”

- Peter Bregman, “Diversify Yourself,” Harvard Business Review.

“However difficult, leaders have an ethical responsibility to get the work done in a way that enriches the organization and the people within it. As you examine your beliefs and behaviors, try this exercise: Visualize one of your people coming home after a long day. As they enter the door, their loved one looks up and asks them about their day. Now decide. What do you want them to say? ”

- Susan Cramm, “Are You Committing Leadership Malpractice?,” Harvard Business Review.

“Managers: stop rewarding people for pulling long hours. Don’t punish them, of course, but rephrase the conversation within your company. If someone is working at four in the morning, something is deeply wrong.”

- Alex Payne, “Don’t Be a Hero.”

“We work really hard for 40 to 45 hours a week, but we believe in people having strong personal lives.”

- “The Way I Work: Paul English of Kayak,” Inc. Magazine.