busy v. productive
What’s behind the cycle of overwork and burnout plaguing the legal profession? This article suggests that it may be a lack of productivity. It seems that the “average American wastes more than two hours a day at work” as we “surf the Internet, socialize with colleagues, and conduct personal business.” Such poor time management skills engender late nights and weekends on the job at the expense of our personal lives. According to the piece, one antidote to this inefficiency is “scheduling, prioritizing, and setting goals. That includes figuring out the three, four, or five things that produce the greatest results, and concentrating on those.” At sidebar, the article offers some other handy tips for working smarter. Adding to the dialog on workplace productivity is this expose on Best Buy’s three-year-old ROWE initiative. Short for “results-oriented work environment,” ROWE allows Best Buy employees to “work when and where they like, as long as they get the job done.” Although the “transition required a lot of deprogramming of old attitudes,” employees give ROWE high marks, asserting that the freedom it affords “is changing their lives” and making them “more productive.” One of the more unique, and tricky, aspects of Best Buy’s program is that employees don’t opt in or out individually. Rather, whole departments sign on to be part of ROWE as a unit. And what group has yet to give this highly praised flextime option a go? You guessed it - Best Buy’s legal department.
