Balancing Time

Here's a secret that good managers know (and mediocre managers may never understand). Increased productivity does not mean increased time. In fact, the reverse is true. Productivity is defined by work over time. To be more productive, you do more work in the same amount (or a smaller amount!) of time.

Here's another secret: productivity is measured by output — the amount of work you do. It doesn't matter where the work is done. If you can be productive working flexible hours or telecommuting, then productivity is served. Productivity isn't measured by "butts in chairs" over hours at the office.

Productive individual contributors learned the secret years ago. Slowly, over time, good managers are picking it up. More business consultants are speaking and writing about how to enhance productivity and lower stress by decreasing hours "at work" and increasing time with self and family.

June 2 is the (un)official Leave the Office Earlier day, but you can take a stand for productivity — get your work done and go home — any day of any month... starting today.

I've known the secret for many years. In my senior year of college, I took a part time job at a local department store. One night, at closing, we were all asked to stay (on overtime) to straighten the store. I had places to go after work that night; staying late wasn't in my plans. I began to straighten my area as fast as possible (but neatly).

I was appalled to notice the two women near me who chattered as they each "folded" the same pair of shorts over and over. It was obvious to me that they didn't value a job well done nor did they care about going home. At least we were all on overtime!

Three years later, in my first "real" fulltime job, I was lucky to be assigned a manager who believed that professionals were paid for 40 hours of (productive) work per week. I've worked this way ever since. When asked how many hours I put in, I answer honestly: "I get my work done".

Here's the final secret. You aren't gaining anything for those extra hours. You're only losing time.

You may make yourself believe that you're in line for promotion, sucking up to the boss, keeping yourself safe from a layoff. But the truth is, hours over 40 aren't compensated. If management sees you working longer hours, they'll come to expect it. They'll just give you more work to do.

One of these late nights at the office, take a break and calculate your "real" salary — per hour worked. There's no overtime pay for the salaried professional worker. There's just time over...

Read More

• Laura Stack, The Productivity Pro
• Stop the Insanity!
• The Hours
• Balancing Acts
• Enough Is Enough
• Don't Burn Out!
• Leave Early
• Keep It Simple
• The Way to Enough
• Excerpt: Take Back Your Time: Fighting Overwork and Time Poverty in America
• Life/Work - Issue 38
• Danger:Toxic Company
• Is Your Life Working?
• I Bet I Can Improve Your Mental Health in One Hour
• The Time Bandit: What U.S. workers surrender to get greater flexibility in work
• Choice of Work Hours
• Where Are the Women? About.com: Life/Work Balance
• Your Job May Be Killing You
• Work Your Proper Hours!
• Survey Says...