You seem to not even understand the game. "Counterproductive" contains normative, technocratic assumptions. It assumes that everybodies goals are to maximize work output, and that everything around that is 'overhead' or 'useless'.
For example, one may assume that when a client comes asking for certain work to be done, that the result of that work is the only thing that matters. Which may or may not be the case. It may be equally important that the impression the client makes executing this project is more important than what is actually produced; or the process of the project rather than the output; or other things still. Scoffing at what may naively be perceived as second-order effects being on equal footing with the 'real' output is imo one of the engineer's negative reflexes (I'm one myself, and I do this, although less than I used to when I didn't realize it even existed).
For example, one may assume that when a client comes asking for certain work to be done, that the result of that work is the only thing that matters. Which may or may not be the case. It may be equally important that the impression the client makes executing this project is more important than what is actually produced; or the process of the project rather than the output; or other things still. Scoffing at what may naively be perceived as second-order effects being on equal footing with the 'real' output is imo one of the engineer's negative reflexes (I'm one myself, and I do this, although less than I used to when I didn't realize it even existed).