The following is a guest post from Candace Coleman (CultureWise). Candace is a writer and editor with a background in publishing and public relations.
When you ask many working people how they are, their standard answer is, “Busy!” And a common reply is, “Well, busy is good!” But what does busyness really indicate, and does it add authentic value and meaning to our work lives? An overwhelming number of studies say a frantic activity pace is counterproductive. Far too often, busyness is actually bad for business.
In contrast to bygone eras where having leisure time was seen as a sign of success, Americans have elevated “being busy” to a symbol of achievement. Sociologist Jonathan Gershuny says people now consider busyness a badge of honor and “the signifier of dominant social status.”
But simply being busy isn’t sufficient to achieve prestige. To get the status bump, others need to observe someone’s hyperactivity. The authors of a Columbia University study use the term “conspicuous consumption of time” to define overt busyness in the workplace. They conclude that:
“positive status inferences in response to long hours of work and lack of leisure time are mediated by the perceptions that busy individuals possess desired human capital characteristics (competence, ambition), leading them to be viewed as scarce and in demand.”
They documented data extrapolated from media platforms like Twitter, confirming that people’s “humble brags” frequently cited long work hours that consumed their lives.
In an article for LinkedIn, Julia Dhar explains that busyness is a self-fulfilling phenomenon. She says people across the business spectrum “have both advertently and inadvertently created and amplified the ‘busy game.’”
Dhar conducted a survey that showed that 95 percent of professionals considered themselves somewhat or very busy. She concludes that as people view others’ activity levels, they increasingly feel the need to step theirs up. FOMO kicks in, and they literally compete to appear busier.
Sociologists and business analysts are growing more vocal about the negative effects of putting a premium on workplace busyness. As Dhar notes, the push to be always on “runs counter to building workplace cultures that honor the whole person.” This treadmill, she writes, is “potentially unproductive, exhausting, and detrimental to company culture and our personal well-being.”
The busyness trap undermines leadership. And one of the biggest reasons leaders get buried in work is their unwillingness to delegate. They justify this behavior by saying it takes longer to tell people how to do something than to do it themselves. Or they simply think they’ll do it better. Or they believe delegating makes them look weak, and they want to be respected.
But failure to delegate robs them of time they could spend on more strategic efforts and prevents their team members from learning and growing. And as organizational psychologist Nicole Lipkin points out in a Forbes article, “Ironically, people end up respecting their leader less when they don’t delegate.” employees resent do-it-all leaders who appear not to trust them with responsibilities.
In her blog, organizational consultant Maureen Douglas outlines additional pitfalls of leaders who spread themselves too thin. Too often, busy leaders:
In general, overly busy leaders are frequently poor role models who are too stressed to meet the needs of their staff and business.
And as detrimental as busyness is to high-level executives, it can take an even bigger toll on the rank and file.
Adam Waytz explains further in a recent article for Harvard Business Review:
“Research shows that since the 1990s, employees increasingly have been working harder and under tighter deadlines and more stressful conditions as they try to master additional skills to outpace the robots gunning for their jobs and as digital devices trap them in a 24/7 workplace. This has taken a significant toll on mental and physical health.”
Waytz notes that efficiency and productivity drop when employees are overloaded. And he adds that exhausted workers are more prone to quitting, which not only takes a personal toll, but companies incur the high cost of hiring and training replacements. And a “busy is good” culture for those who elect to stay can leach employee engagement and increase absenteeism.
Leaders need high-performing teams to be competitive. But busyness doesn’t necessarily equate to profit. Instead of basing incentives mainly on the amount of time put in, they should prioritize results and quality of work.
Adam Waytz offers company executives five recommendations to create a culture that maximizes their employees’ potential while preserving their well-being.
Waytz calls the busyness trend in the work arena an epidemic taking a significant toll on mental and physical health. And all the evidence shows that while hyperactivity makes it look like things are happening at a more rapid pace, it actually prevents organizations from thriving. Leaders who instill a culture of conscientious time use, reward output and quality instead of just effort, and validate employee well-being will build more sustainable and profitable organizations.
As advocates for effective leadership and employee well-being, our team at Inova Staffing understands the importance of rewarding quality output, encouraging deep work, and modeling balanced behavior at all levels. Our approach to staffing and talent acquisition mirrors the need for companies to build resilience by valuing both productivity and the well-being of their teams. Inova Staffing is dedicated to helping organizations find the right talent and create environments where success is defined by meaningful accomplishments, not just relentless activity.
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