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The (anecdotal) issue seems to be lots of Americans not working intelligently. There's a lot of proverbial paper-pushing going on, and I have seen quite a lot
by ap22213 15y ago
The (anecdotal) issue seems to be lots of Americans not working intelligently. There's a lot of proverbial paper-pushing going on, and I have seen quite a lot of it. But, proportionally there's not equal value being created.
Provocatively, I think it has to do with the culture of cheaters that we've created. I noticed it back in the early 90s, in college. There were many more people trying to game the system than taking an intellectually honest approach to curiosity and learning. And, it feels like it's spilled over into the corporate world. There seems to be a surplus of people trying to act like they're working or creating extra work for others - it's an image culture. I truly believe the managers who are always looking for fires to put out mean well. But, the rush that they feel from hammering away at the all-night proposal and the following 70-hour workweek is just that, a rush. But, it's one of those memes that catches, because the image of the 'hard-worker' generally gets one raise. And, the boss tends to hire like themselves. But, I don't see real data correlation.
I piss off a lot of people with my lackadaisical attitude at work, yes. But, I'm of the mind of focusing on the small little bits that provide the largest gains. I could care less about 80% of the other work, and I usually let it slide, because, in my mind it's better to go for the paradigm shifts, not worry about Bob's 1 PM status meeting.
- jarrett 15y agoThis comment seems to disregard the ample quantitative evidence presented in the article. Marshaling substantial citations, the article argues that three things have happened simultaneously: - The productivity of US workers has gone up. - Corporate profits and upper-tier incomes have gone up. - Middle- and lower-tier incomes have stagnated or dropped. The above comment is suggesting that the problem is a lack of productivity in the US workforce ("lots of Americans not working intelligently.") But the data in the article suggests that the problem is systemic--specifically, that gains from higher productivity accrue only at the top, and that there's little disincentive for employers to do a speed-up.
- ap22213 15y agoI agree with you, and I can't argue with the numbers and data. But, still I wonder what is classified as 'productive' work and 'productivity', because I (and many others I talk to) don't see it. My thoughts are indeed anecdotes, and being a data person, I won't tell someone to take it as it is. However, I need to better understand what this data means. I know how to aggregate data points in ways to create the results that I want to create. What else is hidden in that data?
- achompas 15y agoI think the comment does a lot to derail one of OP's foundational points: Americans work much, much more than other countries. Comment argues that, well, we work lots, but not smart. I'd be interested to see how corporate profits parse across sectors--it's likely the finance industry is responsible for the increase in profits.