WEBVTT - Second Cup: Enjoy your efficiency dividend

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>tip is to enjoy your efficiency dividend. As we become

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<v Speaker 1>more experienced and connected, certain work tasks can be done

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<v Speaker 1>a lot faster. There are lots of things you can

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<v Speaker 1>do with this time, but recognizing its existence is a

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<v Speaker 1>good first step. So I recently got a question from

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<v Speaker 1>someone whose full time job was not taking her forty

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<v Speaker 1>hours a week. She worked remotely and was able to

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<v Speaker 1>meet all her work objectives in under thirty hours a week.

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<v Speaker 1>Everyone she worked with was happy with her performance, So

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<v Speaker 1>the question is this a problem? I think this is

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<v Speaker 1>a relatively common scenario with some sorts of white collar jobs,

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<v Speaker 1>particularly for experienced and skilled people who have chosen not

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<v Speaker 1>to move into management. Everyone is hired with the expectation

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<v Speaker 1>that the bundle of tasks designated as a full time

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<v Speaker 1>job will take about forty hours a week, but people

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<v Speaker 1>obviously have wildly different levels of efficiency. Someone just starting

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<v Speaker 1>out won't know how to do things, so tasks will

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<v Speaker 1>take them longer. Even people who have been in the

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<v Speaker 1>same business the same amount of time might work at

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<v Speaker 1>different paces and then there is the reality that the

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<v Speaker 1>longer you do something, the more you know your way

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<v Speaker 1>around things. Someone who is not well connected in an

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<v Speaker 1>industry might spend a lot of time figuring out how

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<v Speaker 1>to get some bit of information or how to get

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<v Speaker 1>something to happen. Someone with a lot of experience just

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<v Speaker 1>picks up the phone and asks for a favor. What

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<v Speaker 1>could have taken weeks takes five minutes. What this means

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<v Speaker 1>is that people with a lot of experience wind up

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<v Speaker 1>with what I call a time dividend, or perhaps an

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<v Speaker 1>efficiency dividend. They've invested time over the years in building

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<v Speaker 1>their skills and their networks, and now it is paying off.

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<v Speaker 1>What could have taken forty hours years ago now takes thirty.

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<v Speaker 1>So what do we do with this? I don't think

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<v Speaker 1>the answer is to force people to sit in the

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<v Speaker 1>office coming up with things to do to look busy.

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<v Speaker 1>Some people might ask for more work, and if you

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<v Speaker 1>sense others are overwhelmed or could use your guidance, that

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<v Speaker 1>would be a wise and kind thing to do. But

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<v Speaker 1>there are other options. Some folks might disagree with me

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<v Speaker 1>on this, but if you are in a season of life,

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<v Speaker 1>or your personal life is extremely busy, it might be

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<v Speaker 1>okay to just accept this for a while. Your full

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<v Speaker 1>time job takes thirty hours a week, thank goodness, because

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<v Speaker 1>you are dealing with your elderly parents, doctor's appointments, or

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<v Speaker 1>maybe a health issue of your own. There will be

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<v Speaker 1>other times in life when you work more, no doubt

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<v Speaker 1>you already have. For those not dealing with these issues,

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<v Speaker 1>I think it might be best in this situation to

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<v Speaker 1>come up with your own project for those extra hours

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<v Speaker 1>that is related to your career development. Read broadly in

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<v Speaker 1>your field network, go to those various virtual semis and

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<v Speaker 1>ours your company holds, or to any conferences you think

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<v Speaker 1>might be useful. Start an employee group for something you

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<v Speaker 1>find fascinating. Have lots of virtual coffees with new hires

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<v Speaker 1>to get to know them. Those things are all better

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<v Speaker 1>than working slower just to show that you are busy.

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<v Speaker 1>They will most likely pay off for your employer, but

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<v Speaker 1>they will definitely pay off for you. In any case,

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<v Speaker 1>it is most helpful to recognize what's going on. Some

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<v Speaker 1>people feel uneasy if their work is taking them less

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<v Speaker 1>time than it used to, but no banker is sad

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<v Speaker 1>about getting dividends. Likewise, there is no reason to worry

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<v Speaker 1>about work taking less time than it used to. That

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<v Speaker 1>is part of building up your career capital. Eventually you

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<v Speaker 1>get returns in the meantime. This is Laura. Thanks for listening,

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<v Speaker 1>and here's to making the most of our times. Thanks

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<v Speaker 1>for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas,

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<v Speaker 1>or feedback, you can reach me at Laura at Laura

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<v Speaker 1>vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia.

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