Discover this podcast and so much more

Podcasts are free to enjoy without a subscription. We also offer ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more for just $11.99/month.

LA 019: The Busyness Delusion - Why Your Efforts May Not Lead to Success

LA 019: The Busyness Delusion - Why Your Efforts May Not Lead to Success

FromJoy@Work Podcast


LA 019: The Busyness Delusion - Why Your Efforts May Not Lead to Success

FromJoy@Work Podcast

ratings:
Length:
9 minutes
Released:
Apr 23, 2016
Format:
Podcast episode

Description

He who stays latest is working hardest.

It's 10 O Clock as you turn the lights out that you switched on
that morning as you leave after a 16 hour slog of a day. Grabbing a
quick bite as you run for the train home knowing that the kids will
be fast asleep by the time you get there. Another day in
paradise.
At least you can relax easily at home knowing what a hard worker
you are. Thinking of all you have accomplished today in the
mistaken belief that effort equals results.
You could be suffering the busyness
delusion.

Being too good at your job might reduce
the perception of the value you are giving!

I worked for a French company for a while some years back. In
spite of their reputation for taking incredibly long lunch breaks,
French companies often display what I call a very macho culture.
It's essentially based on being seen to be busy and actively
involved.
There was essentially, a competition to be first into the office
and last out of the door at night. And, at a minimum, arrive
earlier than the boss, and leave after he had left the
building.
The staff would turn up early in the day and place their coat or
jacket on the back of their chair and on into the computer. Then go
for coffee.
Whenever any of the bosses were around, there was a flurry of
activity and people rushed.
I never really figured out whether people were busy because they
were so focussed on being seen to be busy, or whether they were
busy because they wasted so much time appearing to be busy.
Sweating my assets

When we put in a lot of effort, we sweat.
And in financial terms, we want our assets sweating to show that
they are productive

Businesses have long been aware that assets, once bought, need
to be used as productively as possible. 24/7/365 ideally, else
there is some productivity left unused. The financial term for this
is to 'sweat your assets'. It's based on the same idea that when we
are working hard, we sweat. The harder we work, the more we sweat.
And the harder we work, the more productive we are. Or at least,
that's the theory.
As I live in Singapore, it's pretty easy to get a sweat on. All
I have to do is turn off the AC. Doesn’t make me any more
productive, just hot and a little pungent.
If you were any good at the job, you’d do it in half the
time
Dan Ariely's meeting with a locksmith http://danariely.com/2010/12/15/locksmiths/
No one really cares how hard or long you work http://99u.com/articles/51908/nobody-cares-how-hard-you-work
Whilst you worry about what everyone else is thinking about you,
they're worrying about what you're thinking about them. So you
should be worried about what you are thinking about them but you're
not, because you’re too consumed with what they're thinking about
you, but they're not because they're spending all this neurological
effort thinking about you thinking about what they're thinking
about.
No balance

Striving for work life balance because we
allow work to take over our lives

Levels of stress that cause your body's cells to age prematurely

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/10/give-up/410485/

Hard work doesn’t lead to rewards

Show leadership - what your boss really want is help to get
things done. Not analysed, not talked about, not paraded, done!
Share and carry the load.
http://www.lifehack.org/articles/work/real-reason-get-promoted.html
Being seen to be busy
Perceived value. People prefer to watch how busy and hard
working a website is when searching for results. They actually like
to watch the illusion that the website is working hard!
http://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=40158

It's not enough to jump through the
hoops. You've got to be SEEN jumping through the hoops

This increase PERCEIVED value.
So why do we need to be seen to be busy?
Remember that website being SEEN to be working hard as it
searched for the results?
That seems to be true in most offices as well.
The people who get promoted are those who are seen to be
actively busy and producing results.
It
Released:
Apr 23, 2016
Format:
Podcast episode

Titles in the series (100)

I’m thrilled that you joined me here for this AdvantEdge Joy@Work podcast as I guide you in the art and behavioural neuroscience of expert hybrid leadership so that you can have joy@work and your team has purposeful unity of trust and collaboration.