Juggling Our Way To Inefficiency?
How many of you are reading this posting while also checking voice mail, carrying on a telephone conversation or maybe just partially listening to the person standing in your doorway trying to carry on a conversation with you? How many of you are smiling as you read this, recognizing yourself and your pattern of multi-tasking?
The ability to multi-task has become a badge of honor - the more tasks being juggled the more productive and efficient we are. Right? Maybe, maybe not.
An article by Nancy Jones-Bonbrest, originally published in the Baltimore Sun, challenges the assumption of efficiency and productivity associated with multi-tasking. According to the article:
"While studies demonstrate efficiency and productivity levels can be affected negatively at the hands of multitasking employees, convincing workers of that is challenging, Stack said. With many workers being asked to do more in their jobs, multitasking seems to be one way they're hoping to cope with those added duties.
But a 2001 study published by the American Psychological Association found that for all types of tasks, time is lost when switching from one task to another and lost time increased with the complexity of each task.
"Thus, multitasking may seem more efficient on the surface, but may actually take more time in the end," according to the study."
That being said, slow down and take a few minutes to read the entire article by clicking here: Juggling on the Job is Just Addictive
Posted by Denise Knutson, Senior Consultant, The H.S. Group
The ability to multi-task has become a badge of honor - the more tasks being juggled the more productive and efficient we are. Right? Maybe, maybe not.
An article by Nancy Jones-Bonbrest, originally published in the Baltimore Sun, challenges the assumption of efficiency and productivity associated with multi-tasking. According to the article:
"While studies demonstrate efficiency and productivity levels can be affected negatively at the hands of multitasking employees, convincing workers of that is challenging, Stack said. With many workers being asked to do more in their jobs, multitasking seems to be one way they're hoping to cope with those added duties.
But a 2001 study published by the American Psychological Association found that for all types of tasks, time is lost when switching from one task to another and lost time increased with the complexity of each task.
"Thus, multitasking may seem more efficient on the surface, but may actually take more time in the end," according to the study."
That being said, slow down and take a few minutes to read the entire article by clicking here: Juggling on the Job is Just Addictive
Posted by Denise Knutson, Senior Consultant, The H.S. Group
posted by The H.S. Group at
7:06 AM
2 Comments:
I believe younger generations today don't know how to NOT multi-task. Growing up in an age of video games and over-stimulation, it only seems normal that the world around you is very busy with a lot going on at one time. We've grown up in a fast-paced society which has never known the pleasures of walking anywhere, let alone strolling to the store for a gallon of milk.
Also, try telling any hiring manager out there during an interview that you are not a strong multi-tasker and see how far it gets you in the hiring process. Managers expect their team to be able to perform several functions at once, and for some workers, it seems to be a personal challenge/goal to do just that.
(I write this while concurrently checking my e-mail, reviewing a resume, and looking over a job application.)
By
Anonymous, at 8:00 AM
I couldn't agree more. People even multitask during their lunch hours, running to the store or stopping by the bank. Then after work it's taking the kids to athletics or attending a school board meeting. When does it stop?
By
Anonymous, at 2:34 PM
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