November 7, 2008

Total efficiency in the workplace? Give me a break!

Construction Corner

Korky Koroluk

How much work — real work — did you get done yesterday? How much today? How much will you get done tomorrow?

These are questions worth asking because there is a new survey out that shows that most employees spend only a small percentage of their work time actually getting things done. About three hours a day is the average.

So what do people do the rest of the time? Well, Blackberrys and cell phones are the biggest time wasters. So are most meetings. ..dIn fact, there was a study done about five years ago that showed that, in corporate America, any worthwhile work or decision-making, occurred in the first 20 minutes of a meeting. Beyond that, and it was a waste of time for most of those attending. Anything beyond 45 minutes was a waste of time for everyone.

Another thing: Meetings are most effective when limited to just three or four people.

Blackberrys? I know it’s heresy, but one of the best things about them, or other hand-held devices, is that they can be turned off. Do so. Regularly.

Remember that not all work has to be done in your office, and that too much work at home can harm your whole family. So if the weather is nice, turn off your Blackberry, grab your laptop, and head for a park or a hospitable coffee shop for a couple of hours.

You’ll be amazed at how much you can get done just sitting by yourself for an hour.

You’d have to be an automaton to be productive all day every day, but anyone who aspires to that should remember that even robots need to have their batteries recharged once in a while.

The recent move by the Ontario government to ban the use of hand-held cell phones while driving, once again drove home the fact that many people are living their lives with incredibly high levels of stress, either work-related or self-imposed. We have known for years that there are those who wear their busyness like a badge.

If you’re concerned about how busy you, or a friend, are, it might be worth a visit to the website run by the occupational health and safety folks at the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety. It’s loaded with helpful information. More important, it lets you know what other people are asking about stress in the workplace. It lets you know that you’re not alone—and that’s important.

Much of the workplace stress has arisen in the last three decades or so from bosses who have expected more and more from their employees, who have been quick to brand people who wanted to be treated as human beings as “not a team player,” or “not interested in advancement.”

Much of it, too, has arisen from the myth of total efficiency. Management consultants like Tom DeMarco have made careers out of debunking the myth, although their careers haven’t amounted to much in many cases. After all, challenging the current received wisdom is no way to make a fortune. Better, instead, to fall into line and keep your mouth shut.

DeMarco hasn’t. He’s written books, he’s given speeches, he’s repeated his message that total productivity is a myth.

But now, when it looks as though the unrestrained greed that has characterized the last 30 years has been brought into disrepute, it may be a good time to kick back and think a bit about the myths that have ruled so many lives—especially here in North America.

You may even want to do some reading on the subject. For starters, you may want to read DeMarco’s book, Slack: Getting Past Burnout, Busywork and the Myth of Total Efficiency.

But one hint: Before you open the book, turn off your Blackberry and tell your workmates that you won’t be available for a meeting for the next two or three hours.

Korky Koroluk is an Ottawa-based freelance writer. Send comments to editor@dailycommercialnews.com

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