Is It Time to End the Culture of Busyness?

Whether you work in an SME or a large company, you would know that no matter where you work, the culture of busyness manages to find its way there. 

Other than Covid-19, work emails, texts, calls, and deadlines also plague the workplace. Now that 40% of private companies are working from home again, some will return to work from home, struggling to create a boundary between work and personal time. 

People think those who are busy working are successful, in-demand and financially well-off. But there are adverse effects of the busyness culture. It results in decreased morale, fatigue, lacklustre creativity and diminished productivity.  

Leaders need to eradicate this culture by setting the tone and model a shift in work behaviour.

This article will explain the steps to increase productivity, work-life balance and happiness without tapping into the culture of busyness. 

1. Set your boundaries

Bosses and their staff always think that their value comes from being busy. This way, they are seen as an essential member of the company. Arrive at work early, no lunch, stay late. 

But it does not end there. Once they are home, they receive a call or text from their colleagues and immediately reply. Is it necessary to work even though you are off the clock? 

In most circumstances, no. You could just wait until tomorrow morning. But as long as supervisors send after-hours emails, their staff will always feel compelled to reply, even if the supervisor says something like, "You can reply tomorrow."

Employees do not want their boss to see them as unresponsive, so some spend their free time working. 

A leader should set boundaries and lead by example. It is the best way to send a message to their employees that they should spend their free time not devoted to work. It is also a way to show that not only is it acceptable but also healthy. 

Tell the employees, especially those who work from home, to disconnect, focus on themselves and their loved ones, and not worry about work during their own time. 

The last thing you need is an employee dying from overworking.

2. Set an example

Employers should encourage their workers to do the following:

• Leave work at the office (unless you are working from home, of course, in which case, leave it at the workspace), 
• Take breaks, and
• Do not send or reply to messages during off-hours,

However, you cannot just send an email addressing this issue and consider it done. It takes a lot to change your office culture, and you will need those who are influential in the office to buy in.

In every office, there is a person who many employees look up to. They are cultural leaders. These leaders can help you to transform the office culture.

They can start by stopping after-hours communication and waiting until business hours to reply to any messages they receive off hours. 

It is also helpful to explain to the sender why you do not answer right after you receive the message. They may rethink after-hours messages and correct their work-life imbalance. 

3. Create new perceptions of the ideal employee

Do not praise busy employees. Instead, encourage staff to focus on personal balance and reward them when they find it. Now is the time to stop defining success simply by who comes in early and stays late.

What matters is the quality of productivity.

When you champion the work of employees who seek balance and show that they are valuable and successful, you are sending a message to their coworkers that they too can find balance and still be seen as an asset to the organisation. 

These are three tactics you can use to undo the pervasive culture of busyness. Fighting it and changing company culture to focus on work-life balance is beneficial for employees. It is also good for the employer.

When you focus on balance and rewarding productivity, your employees will feel more empowered to do their work well and provide better results. They will likely feel healthier, less stressed, and not overworked. 

Of course, there will be times when there is an increase in workload and employees will be busy, but this time, it is not for the sake of being busy. 

A culture change could lead to more productivity and a happier workforce throughout your company.

Source: Bizjournals

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