By Cal Newport, January 2022
https://www.newyorker.com/culture/office-space/its-time-to-embrace-slow-productivity
In January 2022, author Cal Newport published an article discussing the idea of Slow Productivity. The impetus was US politician Mark Takano's proposal to reduce the legal work week from 40 to 32 hours. This proposal aimed to combat the rising burnout and stress in the workplace.
Takano's law primarily aims to support hourly wage workers, but knowledge workers, who mainly work in offices and on computers, could also benefit. Studies from Iceland, where a 4-day work week was tested, show positive effects: Participants felt more rested, motivated, and had more time for leisure activities. 🧘♀️
Nevertheless, Newport points out that it's not just about the number of working hours. Rather, the problem lies in the number of tasks that modern knowledge workers have to handle simultaneously. Burnout doesn't just result from long working hours, but from the sheer number of commitments and the stress of trying to juggle everything. 📧💼
In the modern work world, tasks are not clearly structured. While fixed working hours and clear task packages used to determine daily routines, today's knowledge workers have much more autonomy, which may initially seem positive. However, this autonomy often leads to overload, as more and more tasks need to be managed at once. The constant juggling of projects, emails, and meetings leads to a feeling of being overwhelmed and ultimately to exhaustion.
Instead of just reducing working hours, Newport advocates for reducing workload. Slow Productivity aims to work on fewer tasks simultaneously and plan them more structurally. • Focus on fewer tasks: A concentration on the essential instead of multitasking. • Structured prioritization: Important tasks should be specifically allocated so that the workday is not torn apart by constant interruptions and meetings. By introducing systems like Kanban boards, tasks could be clearly prioritized and workflows made more transparent. This would prevent overload and increase productivity.
Newport makes it clear that implementing such systems is not easy. It requires a change in working methods and mindset. Managers would need to learn to distribute tasks according to priorities, rather than simply passing new tasks to employees via email. This might seem cumbersome at first glance, but in the long run, it could lead to a more effective and sustainable way of working. 🎯
While the proposal of a 32-hour week could be helpful in some industries, such as healthcare, it is not sufficient for knowledge workers to counteract burnout. The solution lies not only in fewer working hours, but in better organization and a reduction of workload. Slow Productivity offers a promising answer to the question of how we can work more healthily and productively in the modern work environment.