Time at Work: Work? Who Has Time?
May 18, 2023
I recall data from IDC years ago which suggested or asserted or just made up the following:
knowledge workers spend more than one day each week looking for information.
Other mid tier consulting firms jumped on the bandwagon. Examples include:
- McKinsey (yep, the outfit eager to replace human MBAs with digital doppelgängers says is is 9.3 hours a week
- A principal analyst offers up 2.5 hours per day or 12.5 hours per week searching for information
Now let’s toss in a fresh number. The Rupert Murdoch Wall Street Journal asserts “Workers Now Spend Two Full Days a Week on Email and in Meetings.” I assume this includes legal preparation for the voting machine hoo hah.
What do these numbers suggest when workers are getting RIFed and college graduates are wandering in the wilderness hoping like a blind squirrel that an acorn will trip them?
With meetings, email, and hunting for information, who has time for work? Toss in some work from home flexibility and the result is… why nothing seems to work. Whether it is locating information in an ad supported network, browsing Twitter without logging in, or making “contacts” on LinkedIn — the work part of work is particularly slippery.
Microsoft needs a year to fix a security issue. Google is — any day now — rolling out smart software in most of its products except in the European Union due to some skepticism about the disconnect between Googley words and Googley actions. Cyber security firms are deploying proactive systems as the individual cyber security developers work overtime to deal with new threats.
I am surprised when something works; for example, a Southwest flight takes off and lands mostly on time, an Amazon package arrives the next day as promised, and my Kia is not stolen due to engineering that causes automobile insurance companies to let loose a flight of legal eagles.
Net net: Not too many people work. Quite a few say they work and some are stressed about their work. But work? Who has time? The purpose of work is to not work.
Stephen E Arnold, May 18, 2023
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