Comments on: Busy != Productive

By: Musings of a Software Development Manager » Blog Archive » Productive Versus Busy

Mon, 09 Apr 2007 12:49:36 +0000

[...] Meri William over at Geek | Manager blogs about the common myth that business equals productivity: It’s really easy to mistake “busyness” for productivity. The folks always rushing around, having meetings and complaining about how busy they are certainly LOOK like they’re doing a lot. But the reality is that effort and output are not always related. Productivity is about getting loads done — how you spend your time should be up to you. [...]

By: Jon Rowett’s Workblog » Links for 29 March 2007

Jon Rowett’s Workblog » Links for 29 March 2007 — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 08:26:57 +0000

[...] Geek manager: Busy != ProductiveSo true. I’m reminded of my student jobs in the fish processing factories of Grimsby, where this kind of bollocks work ethic was rampant. Looking busy was much more important than actually doing anything useful, which is why if we finished all of our tasks half an hour early, we were encouraged to engage in brainless busywork such as re-sweeping the same patch of floor over and over again until the shift was up. I still get annoyed thinking about this. Why didn’t we just go home? Being busy is NOT an end in itself.[Tags: projectmanagement softwaredevelopment workblog ] [...]

By: Meri

Meri — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 11:23:46 +0000

Morgan — good point. To be clear, I NEVER meant to say that those who work late to deliver shouldn’t be rewarded. More that the reward should be for the results … not the activity. If you reward people staying late (in and of itself), then you end up with the feeling that you have to stay late, whether you have work to do or not…

I agree completely that bad management can force folks into HAVING to work late to make it all happen at the last minute and would never recommend people be punished for that!

By: Morgan Roderick

Morgan Roderick — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 09:27:58 +0000

Also, before taking rewards away from team members, who work late to deliver on time, have a think on whether they work late because they’re not productive or because they are determined to deliver on time.

I’ve seen managers blame people for working late to deliver on time, and the real cause of people having to work late, was because of the very same manager not having the needed skills to actually have a management position, thus creating unneeded delays and overtime for several teams.

Let’s just say that dedicated professionals who work late, for free, don’t stay in a company that chastises them for trying to make up for poor management.

By: Meri

Meri — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 22:42:08 +0000

Thanks for the FYI on the spelling — duly updated

By: Brad

Brad — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 20:53:08 +0000

You're absolutely right. I think a lot of this has to do with outward appearances -- people who have a need to look busy and important instead of focusing purely on delivery quality and amount. FWIW, "busyness" is a word without the hyphen.