Work Overload or Work Go-Slow?
Understanding 'slowness' releases pressure
A theme is emerging throughout the toughest of years currently - fatigue. There is chronic exertion and anxiety taking its toll on all of us either directly or indirectly. It is coming through loud and clear in almost every conversation I am having with clients, peers, and friends. I am also seeing a spike in the demand of certain programs I run which speak to this elevated need. The interesting thing I have found on reflection is the language many people are using. When I ask about people's current state and experience, the most common response I get is something like this:
"My workload has never been bigger," or
"I've never had so much to do. It's never ending."
In a lot of industries, this extra effort is being rewarded with smaller margins, lower revenues, and/or increased expenses. Hence the anxiety!!!
But when I dig deeper, the reality is little skewed to the perception of more workload. It seems we are actually feeling the effects of slowness. Many interactions in our sphere are basically running slower, and in our whirlwind of busy'ness there is very little we can do about it. With unadjusted expectations, fatigue and anxiety are supercharged leading to a crippling of performance and possibly, more serious health issues. This is the dark side of high achieving mindsets and high performance cultures.
As many of our businesses are working with dispersed workforce's, we are suffering from being on the wrong side of the Allen Curve. The Allen Curve shows us that when people work more than 8 metres from each other, teamwork and productivity falls off a cliff. So, instead of bemoaning the ever increasing workloads we are under, it is worth looking at the factors that are slowing us down:
Slow Communication - we cannot turn around and ask our colleague for that note from the morning's meeting. We cannot overhear the phone calls other colleagues are having where we learn and pick up little micro-communications. We cannot pop down the hallways to check detail before finishing that report. We have a lot of technology at our disposal, but comms simply takes longer when working remotely.
Slow Processes - many have implemented new ways of working to adapt to the new dispersion of teams. But, even if we have we are patching processes together. Experimenting in a lot of cases, there is a good chance many processes simply do not work anywhere near as well or as smoothly as they once did. We are simply 'cracking-on' because there is so much to do, meaning some processes are either dysfunctional or non-existent making our work strenuously slow.
Slow Logistics - physically getting people, products, tools, or goods to each other has become more difficult and in some cases impossible. We are being forced to wait or in some cases abandon certain activities because lead times along supply chains and interior functions are not what they used to be.
These are more specific, pointed, and tangible challenges we can acknowledge, discuss, and find solutions to. A lot more than the bottomless pit of non-stop increases in workload. Slow is here to stay, and engaging with it head on may be a better conversation in our weekly catch-ups and zoom meetings. Realigning expectations to meet this slowness may also be the lever to pull for lowered anxiety and fatigue being felt throughout our workforces.
