Second Cup: Enjoy your efficiency dividend

Over time, work will take less time

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.
This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
tip is to enjoy your efficiency dividend. As we become
more experienced and connected, certain work tasks can be done

(00:28):
a lot faster. There are lots of things you can
do with this time, but recognizing its existence is a
good first step. So I recently got a question from
someone whose full time job was not taking her forty
hours a week. She worked remotely and was able to

(00:49):
meet all her work objectives in under thirty hours a week.
Everyone she worked with was happy with her performance, So
the question is this a problem? I think this is
a relatively common scenario with some sorts of white collar jobs,

(01:10):
particularly for experienced and skilled people who have chosen not
to move into management. Everyone is hired with the expectation
that the bundle of tasks designated as a full time
job will take about forty hours a week, but people
obviously have wildly different levels of efficiency. Someone just starting

(01:34):
out won't know how to do things, so tasks will
take them longer. Even people who have been in the
same business the same amount of time might work at
different paces and then there is the reality that the
longer you do something, the more you know your way
around things. Someone who is not well connected in an

(01:57):
industry might spend a lot of time figuring out how
to get some bit of information or how to get
something to happen. Someone with a lot of experience just
picks up the phone and asks for a favor. What
could have taken weeks takes five minutes. What this means

(02:18):
is that people with a lot of experience wind up
with what I call a time dividend, or perhaps an
efficiency dividend. They've invested time over the years in building
their skills and their networks, and now it is paying off.
What could have taken forty hours years ago now takes thirty.

(02:44):
So what do we do with this? I don't think
the answer is to force people to sit in the
office coming up with things to do to look busy.
Some people might ask for more work, and if you
sense others are overwhelmed or could use your guidance, that
would be a wise and kind thing to do. But

(03:05):
there are other options. Some folks might disagree with me
on this, but if you are in a season of life,
or your personal life is extremely busy, it might be
okay to just accept this for a while. Your full
time job takes thirty hours a week, thank goodness, because

(03:28):
you are dealing with your elderly parents, doctor's appointments, or
maybe a health issue of your own. There will be
other times in life when you work more, no doubt
you already have. For those not dealing with these issues,
I think it might be best in this situation to
come up with your own project for those extra hours

(03:51):
that is related to your career development. Read broadly in
your field network, go to those various virtual semis and
ours your company holds, or to any conferences you think
might be useful. Start an employee group for something you
find fascinating. Have lots of virtual coffees with new hires

(04:11):
to get to know them. Those things are all better
than working slower just to show that you are busy.
They will most likely pay off for your employer, but
they will definitely pay off for you. In any case,
it is most helpful to recognize what's going on. Some

(04:32):
people feel uneasy if their work is taking them less
time than it used to, but no banker is sad
about getting dividends. Likewise, there is no reason to worry
about work taking less time than it used to. That
is part of building up your career capital. Eventually you

(04:54):
get returns in the meantime. This is Laura. Thanks for listening,
and here's to making the most of our times. Thanks
for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas,

(05:17):
or feedback, you can reach me at Laura at Laura
vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia.
For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, please visit the iHeartRadio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.