The managerial obsession with ‘busywork’

Joanna York
BBC
・
12 Apr 2022

Why are higher-ups so afraid of downtime?

When employees are on the clock, most expect them to keep busy through the workday.

• This may mean completing tasks within their remits, or finding ways to make sure their hands are in some work-related project.
• Even when workflows deliver some downtime, the message from management is generally clear: find a way to keep working.

Breaking the cycle

Managers who feel caught in a cycle of assigning busywork should take a step back and think more broadly about what their managers want from them

• Instead of scrambling to keep people busy, they should plan for slow periods, and “look for tasks they can give that will add value”

Downtime can be hugely beneficial for employees – even making them more productive – so why are managers often resistant?

One solution to questioning employees’ work ethic is to micromanage their time

• Give them endless tasks to keep them chained to their desks, even if some of the tasks are pointless
• This gives the manager a sense that they are still in control

‘We definitely make ourselves look busy’.

We feel guilty about not working because we know we’re being paid to work all day.

• A 2021 study showed that guilt around taking breaks is so high that 60% of US remote workers don’t take any time to themselves during the workday.
• In the long-term, frequently assigning tasks designed primarily to keep workers occupied can damage the relationship between managers and their workers.

Source