Junk Work

Last night, I was up till midnight working. Sad, I know (and I bet there are more than a handful of you who are sighing in empathy). But with all this work, are we getting more done? Not necessarily.

Think of everything you do during the day. Does the process take time away from doing what actually needs to get done? Does the system prompt you to send seven emails that say the same thing? How many people do you need to report your work to? Or, alternatively, does your role include acting as a bureaucratic layer between two able-bodied human beings? Do you send out countless weekly/monthly/quarterly reports that gather no meaningful feedback or action?

Yesterday’s article in the Wall Street Journal suggests that perhaps Americans are overworked because we’re consumed with low-value tasks. But what can we do to pull ourselves out of the bureaucratic loops of death and our analysis paralysis without harming the delicate process through which an idea needs to transform into a product? Enacting a “no useless work” rule would be as inconsequential as telling a child that candy is bad. So how do you carefully remove those drops of ink in that tall glass of water?

The article suggests that you speak up about your junk work -- and encourage your reports to do the same. On the global level, companies should take a look at their workers’ schedules and levels of work/life satisfaction to figure out whether they are working more than they should. Some companies have been catching up. “After a 2004 survey of 42,000 IBM employees revealed that four in 10 thought 15 percent of their job duties were unnecessary, IBM developed a Web-based tool for managers to use in routing out low-value work,” according to the article. “The goal: To eke out ‘more time for customers and, as a byproduct, more time for our families and our personal life,’ says J.T. Childs, IBM's vice president, global diversity.”

Go on, have an Outlook-free weekend. I dare you.

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