# Organizational Inefficiency By:: [[Ross Jackson]] 2022-10-28 People frequently complain about work. Sometimes these complaints are specific, other times they are general. Often the complaints center on a unique form of organizational inefficiency, that of having one’s time wasted. Work is rather unique in this respect. One is “on the clock” for a specified amount of time. During that time, one is expected to be at a physical location or online. If things are “slow,” one is expected to find something to do. People are shuffled into meetings that may or may not align with what one is working on. Two elements contribute to this aspect of work: direction and constraint. People are frequently told what to do (i.e., direction), and they “have to” be there and do it (i.e., constraint). In the process, a great deal of time is wasted. At a minimum the time allocation is suboptimal. Given the degree of commonality and frequency among people experiencing their time being wasted at work one might wonder if organizations are truly focused on efficiency. They certainly are rhetorically. The larger organization likely has analysts examining strategic initiatives and comparing elements of efficiency and profitability. But for all of this, it seems that the organizational focus on efficiency is at the macroscale. As far as day-to-day activities are concerned, workers are expected to do what they are told. Does it matter if one’s time is wasted? Not organizationally. Management defends the overriding direction and constraint by saying that the worker either has a “bad attitude,” or “doesn’t understand.” Clearly, management dedicated to efficiency would never waste the allocation of the organization’s “most vital resource.” If organizations were truly committed to organizational efficiency rather than control, they would allow for greater autonomy in the workforce. People could attend any meeting they think would be useful to attend and skip any meeting they think would be a waste of time to sit through. Such an approach would be more efficient still as management wouldn’t have the burden of directing some much action that could be more efficiently achieved through self-direction. In the balance between organizational power/control and efficiency, it’s obvious to all which is truly being optimized. #### Related Items [[Analytics]] [[Management]] [[Efficiency]] [[Meetings]] [[Time]] [[Autonomy]] [[Performance]]