2023-05-04 18:11:53
Curiously, technology often turns out to be detrimental to our productivity. (Photo: Tyler Franta for Unsplash)
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Q. – “I have the furious impression of spending my time replying to useless emails, attending meetings from which nothing concrete emerges, or accomplishing tasks whose purpose I do not understand. All together, I would say that represents an average of 12 hours of “lost” work per week! Is there anything that would help me feel more useful?” – Elodie
A. – Dear Élodie, I can tell you that you are not the only one to feel partially “useless” at work. At the very least, to lament the fact that you are unable to be as efficient as you would like to be. We are even facing a veritable pandemic of inefficiency.
As proof of this, the decision of Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook, who decreed in February that 2023 would be “the year of efficiency” for his company: the absolute priority will be to increase productivity at all levels, both collectively and individually. In other words, various initiatives are being taken at this very moment to simplify and improve the work of employees and teams. And I promise to follow this closely to find out at the end of the year, if not at the beginning of 2024.
I also want proof of this in a recent survey conducted in the United States by Visier, a human resources management software firm, which brought to light several staggering data on this subject:
– 43% of employees admit to devoting on average “more than 10 hours per week” to tasks whose sole purpose is to lead others to believe that they are productive, ie so-called “ostentatious” tasks.
– 22% of employees acknowledge devoting on average “more than 20 hours per week” to ostentatious tasks.
What are conspicuous tasks, exactly? Those which serve no specific purpose, but which give the illusion of being crucial to those who do not look too closely at them. They amount, for example, to rushing to respond to an email from the boss or a colleague to show that you are quick on the trigger, even if it interrupts you in an important task or if other emails should be treated urgently. Another example: taking part in a meeting when you know very well that you have nothing useful to contribute, but which will allow you to show others that you are where the important things are decided. Or, do additional and superfluous research to “inflate” a file that you have to return, just to make others believe that you have worked on it like crazy, or even that you are an expert in the field.
I emphasize, ostentatious tasks have become a real scourge. One last element will allow me to convince you of this, Élodie. The e-commerce platform Shopify has thoroughly analyzed the content and results of all meetings held last year by its approximately 11,600 employees. And in January, senior management scrapped 12,000 of those meetings, explaining to those affected why it was no longer useful to hold them. The result is an overall total of 322,000 hours of work “saved” per year!
Good. Now, how to gain efficiency in your daily work? And this, knowing that you are not in control of the e-mails that you receive and to which you must imperatively respond, any more than of the meetings in which you must participate, even if you are aware that your presence is not really necessary.
There is indeed a solution. It is called the conscious struggle against… counter-productivity!
The philosopher Ivan Illich called the fact that many technological tools save time and money at first glance, but in truth this saving is only smoke and mirrors. .
Take the example of email. In itself, it’s a brilliant invention: the message is quickly written, quickly sent, quickly archived if necessary, all for free. Can’t do without it at work, can we? But that’s forgetting the other side of the coin: the continual spam that requires constantly renewed filters; the incessant flow of e-mails that we still have to read, even if we know in advance that they will not be useful to us; the overflowing filing system; etc In the end, emails eat up a lot of our time. And very often, to no avail!
One last point: are emails really that “free”? Well no. Just think of the cell phone you carry everywhere with you, the monthly subscription you have to pay, the paid applications you use, etc. The bill is astronomical!
Let’s take another example: PowerPoint presentations. How much time spent embellishing them with bright colors, improbable fonts, or even animations supposed to be funny? And how many more or less discreet hums do they usually trigger soon after the meeting room lights have been dimmed? This type of software is supposed to increase productivity, but each of us knows very well that this is not the case…
Fighting against counter-productivity therefore amounts to following a very simple rule of life, advocated by the Swiss entrepreneur Rolf Dobelli in his book “Die Kunst des guten Lebens” (The art of living well, in French) : do without the superfluous.
“Technological tools, which always look so promising, often turn out to be counterproductive for our quality of life. Hence the interest of doing without the superfluous in terms of technological tools. And so, before rushing on the next gadget (application, software, digital tablet, wireless headphones, etc.), turn on your brain instead!”, he notes.
What to say? It is important to realize that technology is not always your friend at work. And then that you should make it a habit at work to limit your use of technology, as much as possible:
– Do you need to send a message to a colleague? Don’t email him about it, get up from your desk and take two minutes to talk to him in person. This time will never be wasted, on the contrary, it will allow you to strengthen the bond you have with this person.
– Do you need to present the highlights of a file? Forget PowerPoint. Memorize the three main highlights, concocting for each of them a mini explanation holding in one or two striking sentences. All the attention will then be on you, and your sentences will not fail to strike the spirits.
– Do you have to participate in a video chat with colleagues? Let them know that at that time you will be in the office and that it would be easier to see each other in the presence. And if ever the video concerns a business partner or a client, offer to see you in person, on the pretext that communication always goes better that way.
That’s not all. Also get into the habit of putting technology at a distance. For example, Élodie, you tell me that you are overwhelmed with e-mails, and that you have to answer them. Keep answering it since you have no choice, but only do it for 5 minutes every hour, or better, once in the morning and again in the afternoon. Of course, delete notifications, which are a source of distraction. This will free your mind from emails, allowing you to focus on relevant tasks.
Ditto, you tell me that you have to attend meetings where you have nothing to do. Look at your calendar and identify a recurring meeting that you would gladly do without. Then go talk to the person organizing it, explaining how beneficial it would be for you to devote an hour of your time to something else. You should easily come to common ground. Then, repeat the operation with another recurring meeting. And so on.
In short, Élodie, counter-productivity is largely responsible for your feeling of uselessness at work. Adopt Rolf Dobelli’s motto – do without the superfluous – and you will see your daily work life simplify itself, and therefore become more and more interesting for you. As if by magic, you will then have the feeling of really doing useful work. For your greater good and for that of those around you.
By the way, the French philosopher Montesquieu noted in his “Cahiers”: “What is not useful to the swarm is not useful to the bee”.
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