Countering a Busyness Culture

Countering a Busyness Culture

Busy, busy, busy… Professor Waytz of Kellogg School of Management rightly argues that in the current business world almost everyone feels busy and busyness has become a status symbol. He says a culture of busyness exists, in which we consider hard-working people to be "morally admirable" (regardless of their meaningful output). The effects are well known and disastrous - both for employees and for the productivity of the organization.

Most interestingly, in HBR Mar-Apr 2023, Waytz recommends 5 approaches as "antidotes" for companies who want to do something about it, we might call it "organizational time management":
1. Reward output, not just activity.
2. Assess whether your organization is generating deep work and eliminating low-value work.
3. Force people off the clock.
4. Model the right behavior.
5. Build slack into the system (avoid overly strict constraints on time, resources, budget).
⇨I am looking forward to your thoughts and experiences. Please focus in this thread on the organizational, culture level, not what individuals can do themselves.

		Comments Sort by date Sort by rating Rating
		2 Judith Santizo Consultant, Guatemala
	Busy Conjuncture I believe that it is important to promote an organization culture that is supported by values and pr... Sign up

		2 Norman Dragt Netherlands
	There is More to Busyness Culture There is something to say for a culture that focusses on quality of work instead of quantity. Howeve... Sign up

		2 Helen Strong Business Consultant, South Africa
	Be Systematic in Beating Busyness Busyness is not always productive – and besides that, the pressure of being busy can result in mista... Sign up

		2 Ebrahim Vahedi Director, Iran
	Change Busy, Busy, Busy Culture I think Professor Waytz' 5 step instructions can indeed modify a busyness culture in organizations. ... Sign up

		1 Anonymous
	High Costs of not Countering Busyness in Firms The costs of not countering a prevailing "busyness culture" are higher than you think. According to... Sign up

		2 Jaap de Jonge Editor, Netherlands
	Work-Life and Time Management Workshops Thanks for your interesting responses so far. Indeed, doing nothing against such culture of busyness... Sign up

		2 Oyewole Ola Coach, Nigeria
	Create a Process and Focus on MIT + Fun Learning organizations have developed a culture/environment that helps employee focus on the most im... Sign up

		2 Maurice Hogarth Consultant, United Kingdom
	Busyness Situations and Their Management There seem to be 3 main reasons for "busyness": The SYSTEM within which people work: Causes... Sign up

		1 Judith Santizo Consultant, Guatemala
	Time Management Workshops (Jaap de Jonge) @Jaap de Jonge: Indeed, what you express responds to the use of time in the work activities. Organiz... Sign up 3-5-2023