Do more, work faster: How we measure productivity

The definition question: What is productivity?

Marie Meyer-Marktl knows firsthand that productivity, especially when it comes to office work, is difficult to measure. She was the financial manager of a large corporation in Hamburg and tried to measure the productivity of her teams. So she recorded the hours of attendance. However, it was not possible to determine exactly how many work tasks were completed per day and at what pace. That would be the most important criterion.

Productivity cannot be easily defined. And if only “spongy”, according to the expert. Even a good conversation with a colleague can sometimes be seen as productive: “For example, if it helps to build trust, which could be an advantage in future tasks.” Only he knows whether Zuckerberg sees it the same way.

It is more likely that he would agree with the following concept of productivity: Generally speaking, a productive day is when you actually devote yourself to the issues at hand and solve them in a timely manner. Applied to the working day, this means: “In the time you spend on workplace “You should actually make some progress,” says Meyer-Marktl. And that definitely doesn’t mean drinking coffee and surfing the Internet.

Why we can no longer be as productive

Because exactly the second would be a classic one Productivity killershe says. The temptation of digital distraction is (too) great. The mere presence of a cell phone can have a negative impact on productivity, according to a study by the University of Paderborn.

Ringers Smart devices or constantly arriving emails would make it difficult to focus and thus the so-called Flow state impede. A state in which you concentrate fully on a task, explains the career coach. “Where time flies and you no longer look at the clock.”

However, you can only get into a good flow after about ten minutes of distraction-free work. “We can hardly do that these days,” Meyer-Marktl points out. An argument that we have generally become less productive?

How productive are we really?

This is debatable. Research findings also vary. It is proven that labor productivity in an economic sense is stagnating. At least if you look at GDP. Per employed person should Austria’s economy have not become more productive since 2010. AMS boss John head expresses itself on the platform LinkedIn does this as follows:

“More employees do less in fewer hours,” he wrote two weeks ago, noting that the number of employees has increased at the same time.

Head explains this decline in the People productivity with the general reduction in working hours. And this is drastic in Austria. An example: Men worked around two hours less per week in 2023 than was the case in 2015. Why cut them short? They go on maternity leave more often or (now also) decide to work part-time. But does that also mean that they achieve less individually?

Less is more: Why you shouldn’t drive at full throttle

Marie Meyer-Marktl does not share this strictly economic view of efficiency and increased productivity. “We as a society are no less productive,” she says. Simply because of the new technical possibilities.

“In the past, people didn’t have a washing machine or a computer. Everything was laboriously done manually, which was more time-consuming.” Nowadays, a lot of things are automated and faster. However, this speed can also be stressful.

That’s why she understands the desire Homeoffice and shorter working hours. “The challenge of our society is that we have endless possibilities. We want to do and have everything – and ideally very quickly.” But productivity is only possible with a balance between efficiency and regeneration: “When you drive your car at full throttle, you also need more fuel.”

A new survey by a German health insurance company shows that some people may take regeneration too seriously. This says that almost 40 percent of those surveyed also like to take a nap while working from home. Does this always take place during the lunch break?