Optimal Busyness? Let's Ask An Expert

The Busyness Paradox

00:46 - Feeling in Control: Optimal Busyness and the Temporality of Organizational Controls

30:00

Living together in a group is a strategy many animals use to survive and thrive. And a big part of what makes that living situation successful is listening. In this episode, we explore the collaborative world of the naked mole-rat. Threshold is nonprofit, listener-supported, and independently produced. You can support Threshold by donating today . To stay connected, sign up for our newsletter . Operation frog sound! Send us your frog sounds for an upcoming episode. We want you to go out, listen for frogs and toads, and record them. Just find someone croaking, and hit record on your phone. It doesn’t matter if there’s background noise. It doesn’t even matter if you’re not sure whether or not you’re hearing an amphibian—if you think you are, we would love to get a recording from you. Please also say your name and where you are in the world, and then email the recording to us at outreach@thresholdpodcast.org…

hace 3 años 49:23

MP3•Episodio en casa

Excessive busyness is bad, especially when you don't have enough of it. Not gonna lie, even we at “The Busyness Paradox” didn’t see that busyness paradox coming. Two researchers in France did, however, and we’re joined by one of them! Dr. Ioana Lupu’s recently-published study shows how our relentless pursuit of “optimal busyness” - that euphoric, Goldilocks state of productivity that exists between being underworked and overwhelmed, and always seems juuust out of reach - can lead us down the path of burnout. Tune in to hear her insights on what employers and employees can do to avoid this sad fate and share your own thoughts with us at input@busynessparadox.com.
People, Papers and Paul’s Obscure French Film Recommendations in this Episode:
00:26 - Dr. Ioana Lupu, ESSEC Business School

00:45 - Dr. Joonas Rokka, emlyon Business School

22:23 - Episode #22: The Efficiency Paradox

44:20 - Ressources Humaines (Human Resources)

Visit us at busynessparadox.com for the transcript to this episode. Check out some of our blog posts and other content while you’re there!

Come visit us at busynessparadox.com to see episode transcripts, blog posts and other content while you’re there!

59 episodios

#MBA #Business #Podcasting Education #Self-Improvement #Frank and Paul #Busyness #IT Management #Strategy #Corporate #Economics #Employee #Staff #Productivity #Work #Performance

The Busyness Paradox

Optimal Busyness? Let's Ask An Expert

The Busyness Paradox

published hace 3 años

MP3•Episodio en casa

00:45 - Dr. Joonas Rokka, emlyon Business School

00:46 - Feeling in Control: Optimal Busyness and the Temporality of Organizational Controls

22:23 - Episode #22: The Efficiency Paradox

44:20 - Ressources Humaines (Human Resources)

Visit us at busynessparadox.com for the transcript to this episode. Check out some of our blog posts and other content while you’re there!

Come visit us at busynessparadox.com to see episode transcripts, blog posts and other content while you’re there!

59 episodios

#MBA #Business #Podcasting Education #Self-Improvement #Frank and Paul #Busyness #IT Management #Strategy #Corporate #Economics #Employee #Staff #Productivity #Work #Performance

Alla avsnitt

1
Beyond the Bill: Tipping Trends and Research Revelations 1:28:23

hace 1 year1:28:23

1:28:23

Live from the Southern Management Association conference in St. Pete Beach, FL, Frank and Paul interview Cornel University's Dr. Mike Lynn, arguably the world's foremost researcher on service tipping. We discuss the pros and cons of tipping as a form of compensation, demographic differences in tipping rates and, of course, the sudden proliferation of tipping into seemingly every facet of our lives. If you're tired of tipping at self-service cash registers, you'll enjoy this one. And if you're a management researcher, listen up! Stunningly, with the exception of Dr. Lynn, this dramatic shift in service work compensation has flown almost completely under our radar so far. Let's get cracking folks. Links to People and Publications Mentioned in This Episode: - Dr. Michael Lynn - Michael D. Johnson and Family Professor of Services Marketing, Cornell University - The moral imperative of tipping - A Traveler’s Guide to Tipping in a Changed World - Danny Meyer’s Restaurants Will End Their No-Tipping Policy - Service sweethearting: An effective way to increase tips? - Giving vs. Giving In Come visit us at busynessparadox.com to see episode transcripts, blog posts and other content while you’re there!…

1
Kneeling at the Altar of Busyness 58:24

hace 1 year58:24

58:24

Fans of American College Football were recently treated to a baffling display of heroic determination. Needing only to touch a kneecap to a blade of grass to secure a hard fought victory, the University of Miami's gridiron team bravely stole defeat from the jaws of victory. How? With unnecessary busywork, of course. Come visit us at busynessparadox.com to see episode transcripts, blog posts and other content while you’re there!…

1
Why Not Win? A Discussion with Larry Thornton and Dave Ketchen 1:24:26

hace 2 years1:24:26

1:24:26

Larry Thornton and Dave Ketchen join us to discuss their award-winning graphic novel, "You Have to Live, Why Not Win?" and Larry's journey from racial segregation to success as an entrepreneur, author, teacher and artist. This is our most inspirational interview yet and will make you question your perceptions of yourself and others. In a good way. We promise. If you listen to one episode of the Busyness Paradox, make sure it's this one. As Frank summarized in his review of the book (in press, Academy of Management Learning & Education ): Ultimately, indeed, you have to live, and with generative artificial intelligence, such as ChatGPT, becoming more prevalent in the work- place, the characteristics of communication skills, relationship skills, disposition, deportment, and demeanor introduced in this book are certain to help students differentiate themselves through their ability to relate to others, thus giving them a greater opportunity to win. Links to People, Places, and Books Mentioned in this Episode: - You Have to Live…Why Not Win? A Graphic Novel - Why Not Win? Reflections on a fifty-year journey from the segregated South to America's boardrooms - and what it can teach us all - Why Not Win Institute - Larry Thornton - Dave Ketchen Come visit us at busynessparadox.com to see episode transcripts, blog posts and other content while you’re there!…

1
The Paradox of Fearing Change 53:01

hace 2 years53:01

53:01

We humans have a love/hate relationship with change. Many of us are probably alive today because some cave-dwelling ancestor said “on second thought, let’s not try that new shortcut through viper country cousin Erg suggested before he mysteriously disappeared.” Yet we also fear the consequences of NOT changing with the times: obsolescence, boredom and generally getting left behind as the world moves on. And so we cling to the familiar, instinctively pushing back against the mere suggestion that there are new and better ways to do our jobs or live our lives. All while harboring a dread fear of what would almost certainly happen if we don’t embrace the very changes we are afraid of. Join us as we ponder this paradox of paralysis, where the only thing we fear more than change is the consequences of not changing. Come visit us at busynessparadox.com to see episode transcripts, blog posts and other content while you’re there!…

1
Mo' Money, Mo' Busywork 48:39

hace 2 years48:39

48:39

Have you ever gotten a pay raise and then, looking back, sort of wished you hadn't? It's become a surprisingly common phenomenon as employees have found hidden strings attached to the Covid-era generosity shown by employers. To discuss this unusual predicament, we sought out someone with a usual perspective on the workplace: meet Dr. Caleb Sanchez, a former police officer turned business psychologist. Join us as Dr. Sanchez, founder of Executive Equilibrium , shares his advice for adjusting to the shifting realities of the post-Covid workplace. Come visit us at busynessparadox.com to see episode transcripts, blog posts and other content while you’re there!…

1
Artificial Work Meets Artificial Intelligence 55:57

hace 2 years55:57

55:57

With all the fanfare about artificial intelligence these past few months, listeners have asked us: "Will ChatGPT put an end to busywork?" Like all self-appointed experts, we took the question straight to ChatGPT. It tells us that "ChatGPT is designed to provide automated assistance and support...helping employees perform tasks more efficiently and effectively, reducing the amount of busywork they need to do." We’re…cautiously optimistic. Come visit us at busynessparadox.com to see episode transcripts, blog posts and other content while you’re there!…

1
Who’s The Real Time Thief? 45:41

hace 2 years45:41

45:41

It’s that time of year when endless news reports about March Madness-related “time theft” bubble up to the surface (get it? like teams on the bubble? anyone?) They all bemoan the incalculable dollar amount, which dozens of studies nonetheless claim to calculate, lost to employees watching basketball instead of working. Our take: if your employees are doing what you pay them to do and you’re furious that they didn’t do more because they were watching basketball, you’re the time thief. Mentioned in this episode: Who’s The Real Time Thief? March Madness Underscores Cost of Workplace Time Theft Stealing time at work: Attitudes, social pressure, and perceived control as predictors of time theft. J ournal of Business Ethics , 94 , 53-67. Employee time theft: Conceptualization, measure development, and validation. Personnel Psychology , 75 , 347-382. Come visit us at busynessparadox.com to see episode transcripts, blog posts and other content while you’re there!…

1
When Working Hard Looks Like Hardly Working 1:10:21

hace 2 years1:10:21

1:10:21

Join us as we pat ourselves on the back for reaching the fabled 52-episode milestone. Because 52 is way more exciting than 50. Not because we had already passed 50 episodes without realizing it. Why would you even think that? Anyways, publishing 52 episodes has taught us that podcasting shares a (wait for it…) paradox with many seemingly simple jobs: the more skill and effort you put into it, the less skill and effort the average consumer thinks it requires. This is a frustration well-known to car mechanics, tailors, and football kickers whose reward for making hard jobs look easy is to be told "anyone can do that!" by observers who endeavor to make easy jobs look hard. And so we dedicate this 52nd episode spectacular to them and to all of you who appreciate the value of legitimately “hard" work, even if your customers do not. Links to resources mentioned in this episode: 07:20 Alabama football recruiting: Nick Saban turns down huge NIL request 14:43 Electric Vehicles Battery Problem 16:16 Leno: Appreciation for hard work is fading, and old cars aren’t easy 29:50 Are You Entertained—Or Addicted? 41:25 Episode #7: BS Jobs 56:50 Bone Valley podcast Come visit us at busynessparadox.com to see episode transcripts, blog posts and other content while you’re there!…

1
Excessively Lean: When a Lack of Slack Bites You in the Back 49:14

hace 2 years49:14

49:14

We all know the story. After worshipping at the altar of "lean" for decades, we spent two years wondering where all the toilet paper and pickup trucks went. Covid reminded us that too much efficiency could be colossally inefficient, slack was back, hooray. Then you tried to board that Southwest flight a couple months ago and you realized the germ-like aversion to slack had taken root far beyond the manufacturing sector. In this episode, we discuss how keeping "slack in the system" in all aspects of our lives helps us stay happy, productive, and safe from the horrifying dystopia foretold by Garfield In Paradise. (chrome, chrome, chrome…bop bop a re-bop) Mentioned in this episode: 1:40 - Episode #50: Unions, Strikes, and Your Rights with Dan Gilmore 3:20 - FTC Holds Public Forum on Proposed Rule Banning Use of Non-Compete Agreements 10:20 - The Employment Situation - December 2022 10:50 - Episode #48: Let’s Get Down(sized)! 11:05 - The Lords of Easy Money: How the Federal Reserve Broke the American Economy 14:20 - Billionaire Charlie Munger says to stop complaining everyone is five times better off than they used to be 15:00 - The 15-Hour Workweek 15:40 - Episode #41: Time For Niksen (not that Nixon) 20:15 - Why 2023 Could Finally Be the Year of the 4-Day Workweek 20:15 - Episode #44: Charlotte Lockhart and the 4-Day Week 25:20 - Southwest Airlines Has Fallen Apart 39:00 - Garfield in Paradise Come visit us at busynessparadox.com to see episode transcripts, blog posts and other content while you’re there!…

1
Unions, Strikes, and Your Rights with Dan Gilmore 1:01:35

hace 2 years1:01:35

1:01:35

If you're like us, you grew up being told that American labor unions were a fading relic of the past. After a string of successful organizing drives and a stunning 406 strikes in 2022, we're beginning to question that assumption. Reflecting on the ongoing labor strife in the American railroad industry, we decided it was time to bring in an expert to discuss the current state of organized labor in the U.S. In this episode, Dan Gilmore , Attorney at Law and Founder of Squire Strategies , joins us to not only discuss the ins and outs of modern labor unions but he also teaches us about the rights of non-unionized workers that very few Americans are aware of. If you have a job - any job - you're going to want to listen to this episode. Come visit us at busynessparadox.com to see episode transcripts, blog posts and other content while you’re there!…

1
Repressing Workers With Busywork 51:24

hace 2 years51:24

51:24

Back in March 2020, millions of workers around the world abruptly learned that their jobs didn't always require their presence at a specific desk in a specific building at a specific set of times each and every week. After a bumpy start, many began to appreciate the flexibility, autonomy and, to varying degrees, empowerment this new approach to work afforded. Others decided it wasn't for them. A few decided it wasn't for anyone. That a vocal minority is bent on pushing us all back into our offices and cubicles should come as no surprise to longtime listeners. But who are these committed defenders of the pre-pandemic status quo? And what are their motivations? That's where things get a bit interesting. Mentioned In This Episode: 9:15 - Privilege and Pro-Office Pablum 33:25 - Calling Out Kardashian (Busyness Paradox Episode #38) 37:14 - Much Ado About WUSI (Busyness Paradox Episode #27) 46:40 - Time For Niksen (not that Nixon) (Busyness Paradox Episode #41) If you find this topic interesting you might enjoy these earlier episodes as well! - Chasing Productivity & Creativity in Work From Home (WFH) - Couch or Cubicle? - Shady Statistics and the Status Quo - The 15-Hour Workweek - WFH is Dead! Long Live WFH! - Expanding the Compressed Workweek - Charlotte Lockhart and the 4-Day Week Come visit us at busynessparadox.com to see episode transcripts, blog posts and other content while you’re there!…

1
Let's Get Down(sized)! 44:13

hace 2 years44:13

44:13

“Everyone’s got a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” So says Mike Tyson, and so it is with layoffs. No one starts a new job expecting it to end with a pink-slip. Even when the grim employment reaper is seen milling about our own workplace, it’s easy to convince ourselves that he’s only harvesting other people’s jobs. And yet, almost half of us will be downsized at least once in our careers. Join us as we discuss some warning signs and proactive steps to take when layoffs are afoot. Also, please help us figure out the plural of ostrich. We’d Google it but we laid off our Assistant Senior Vice President of Internet Searches. Mentioned in This Episode: 15:30 - The delusional demands of some Twitter employees 19:00 - Striking Back: Protecting Your Paycheck When Your Job Goes Off The Rails 22:50 - Do You Have Too Many Employees? 22:31 - Boring Job Burnout 24:10 - BS Jobs 24:00 - How Common Are BS Jobs? 26:30 - How to Deal with Layoff Anxiety 30:00 - The 15-Hour Work Week Come visit us at busynessparadox.com to see episode transcripts, blog posts and other content while you’re there!…

1
Striking Back: Protecting Your Paycheck When Your Job Goes Off The Rails 51:05

hace 3 years51:05

51:05

Almost three years in, we think it's safe to conclude that history will view the 2020's as "an interesting time to be alive." But a silver lining of these turbulent times has been the widespread rethinking about how work should "work." The resulting push toward previously-unthinkable levels of flexibility, empowerment and compensation has met with some friction, however. The resulting labor unrest, strikes, and (our favorite) the paradoxical threat of widespread layoffs amid historic staff shortages, has made a lot of us understandably anxious about our current and future jobs. In this episode, we discuss strategies for keeping your career and your sanity from going off the rails. Links to Topics Discussed in This Episode: 1:01 - Rail workers push to strike. Here's why they're angry. 9:08 - Timeline of strikes in 2022 9:59 - Alabama Miners Slam Corporate Media Blackout Of Struggle (video) 10:30 - Striking Alabama coal miners refuse to pay $13.3 million in ordered damages 17:45 - Great Apprehension: Majority of Americans ‘are fearful of losing their job,’ analyst says 23:01 - How to Deal with Layoff Anxiety 25:53 - Rumours and gossip demand continuous action by managers in daily working life Click here to see the transcript for this episode Come visit us at busynessparadox.com to see episode transcripts, blog posts and other content while you’re there!…

1
The Quiet Quitting Quagmire 47:31

hace 3 years47:31

47:31

By now you've probably heard about "quiet quitting," the latest workplace trend to blow the minds of journalists and social media posters alike. This stunning act of rebellion involves employees doing the work they are paid to do. Seriously. That's what quiet quitting is. It's neither quiet nor quitting, but it's a movement nonetheless. The hoopla, of course, is about what these mutinous workers are NOT doing. They're not making charitable donations of their time and energy to their employers. They're not responding to work emails at their kids' birthday parties. They're not spending extra (unpaid) hours in the office as a matter of course. They're not viewing the contents of their job descriptions as "the bare minimum." And so, in solidarity with this movement, we present a stripped-down, "bare minimum" deep-dive into quiet quitting. Articles and Books Discussed in this Episode: What Is Quiet Quitting on TikTok? If Your Co-Workers Are ‘Quiet Quitting,’ Here’s What That Means Quiet Quitting: Why Doing the Bare Minimum at Work Has Gone Global Employees Say ‘Quiet Quitting’ Is Just Setting Boundaries. Companies Fear Long-Term Effects A Look at 'Quiet Quitting' — and Whether It's a Good or Bad Thing The Backlash to Quiet Quitting Smacks of Another Attempt by the Ruling Class to Get Workers Back Under Their Thumbs: Am I Wrong? Tessa West: Jerks at Work: Toxic Coworkers and What to Do About Them Click here to see the transcript for this episode Come visit us at busynessparadox.com to see episode transcripts, blog posts and other content while you’re there!…

1
People Don't Want to Work (for you) Anymore! 32:36

hace 3 years32:36