Tech Makes Working Harder

Ant wrote to mention a C|Net article exploring U.S. workers' productivity. People say they actually accomplish less now than they did a decade ago. Research blames technology as the culprit. From the article: "Technology has sped everything up and, by speeding everything up, it's slowed everything down, paradoxically ... We never concentrate on one task anymore. You take a little chip out of it, and then you're on to the next thing ... It's harder to feel like you're accomplishing something.'"

Comments

Or maybe..

[Turn-X Alphonse]

Or maybe it's the ear we live in. We're pushed so hard (must be ready 24 hours a day, while living three lives at once), that we're so tired/fed up with it we work less. Think of it like an army, if you march for a week without proper rest the last 3-4 days will be much slower than if you marched 6 days then took a rest on the 7th.

We push ourselvs untill our wills or body breaks. Theres no reason to care for typing in spread sheet numbers or carrying boxs, so we just do it and end up with half a job done.

Maybe if work was more rewarding (forget money, it's no real reward in this sense) and we weren't expected to be on call 24 hours a day, we would get a good rest and work three times as well (hence productive).

Re:Not a technology problem

[lawaetf1]

I don't think it's fair to dismiss the decline in worker productivity as being solely attributal to a lack of prioritization. Even if you *know* which task is the most important you still have to context switch to process and prioritize incoming information.

Phone rings -- "yes, hello? .. no.. sorry.. yes.. i understand.. no i can't help you with that right now... ok.. i promise i'll look at it in a second."

[back to task]

Instant message -- "Dude!!! HRPROD22-NA01 is down, WTF?"
"I know, I know, but I'm working on something else right now, it's next in the queue, i promise you."

and so on and so on, ad nauseum. Context switching causes a performance hit for computers and humans. Gone are the days when shutting your office door gave you a semblance of privacy.

In a grander sense, many conjecture that we're no longer producing works of genius with the same frequency as was the case pre-Internet / telephone for the very reason that the finite capacity of our brains is now being pulled in ever more directions. From a simple neurological perspective, the melody processing part of your cranium will not become as prominent if you're constantly engaging other aspects of your mind -- buying coffee from starbucks instead of having it brought to your room, talking on the phone with your agent instead of being left alone to compose, conducting interviews instead of simply focusing on getting the next piece perfected. Bad examples perhaps but I think the idea is right on.

Too much fuzz.

Re:Not a technology problem

[OverlordQ]

Think back to the 50's and 60's, then look at today. Compare the advances in technology, one would expect that with the advances in technology, we'd be working less and have more free time. Kinda gone the opposite way hasn't it.