“The reward for getting done with your work faster is always going to be more work for you to do.” Mike Schmitz from the Focused podcast
In manufacturing, the speed of the assembly dictated the amount of work the employee was expected to accomplish. Being efficient meant less stress as the work flowed to them. The entire assembly wouldn’t speed up or slow down based on an individual’s contribution.
Today, knowledge workers aren’t throttled by an assembly line. The amount of work is seemingly endless. Sometimes the employee wishes to demonstrate their efficiency in order to accept more responsibility and position themselves for higher pay or a promotion in position. Sometimes the employee wishes to demonstrate their efficiency in order to have more breathing space in their workday and lower their stress levels. Management isn’t trained to recognize the latter. They are conditioned and rewarded for pushing productivity higher and higher amongst all employees. This contributes to short-term profit gains, but higher levels of burnout and employee turnover for those seeking a more sustainable work pace.