The 7 behaviors of highly unproductive knowledge workers

Although AI technology is expected to revolutionize the productivity of knowledge workers it does little or nothing to address one of the biggest productivity problems in the modern workplace: attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).???

?Clinical ADHD is a neurological condition triggered by a combination of genetic, biological and environmental factors that impact brain development and functioning.? Workplace ADHD is fundamentally different.? It consists of a set of learned behaviors that are largely induced by the IT tools knowledge workers use to perform their jobs.

?Knowledge workers are subjected to a daily lottery of demands on their time and attention.? Readers of this article don’t need to be reminded about the number of text messages, emails, video calls, application notifications, social media announcements, etc. they receive on a daily basis.? Many will tell you they either come to work early or stay late so they can sidestep these distractions and simply “get work done.”

?The time savings produced by AI-enabled workflow automation will undoubtedly be valuable in the future.? But AI technology cannot eliminate and may not even deter productivity losses produced by the following behaviors.?

Incessant context switching

Context switching occurs in multiple ways throughout the work day.? Workers may use multiple applications that employ unique terminology and idiosyncratic workflows to complete a specific task.? They may switch between work tasks over short periods of time in the erroneous belief that their brains can perform multiple tasks in parallel.? Or they may rotate their attention between work-related tasks and personal interests or activities.?

?Many workers believe that context switching is an acquired skill that can be honed over time.? Much like a professional athlete, they believe that the more you do it, the better you get at it.? In fact the opposite is true.? Incessant context switching results in a documented decline in cognitive performance in terms of attention, memory and problem solving capabilities.? Clinical studies have demonstrated that an individual’s working memory and task switching ability steadily decline after the age of 30.? ???

Pavlovian reactions to co-worker communications

The Russian scientist Pavlov discovered that he could induce hunger behaviors in dogs by associating the presence of food with the sound of a metronome.? Many knowledge workers have a similar conditioned response when they receive a new email or text message.? They experience a compulsion to respond in some fashion, either to simply acknowledge receipt of the message, reply to a specific query or request, offer a gratuitous observation or opinion, or communicate personal empathy or support.

?In some cases, these Pavlovian responses are simply part of a pervasive company culture in which it would be socially unacceptable to ignore or withhold a response to a co-worker’s communication.? In other cases, individuals may have an innate FOMO or need for social inclusion that drives them to participate in endless messaging threads.? They want to ensure that they are informed and consulted about everything that is happening within their workplace.?

An inability to say “no”

One of the foundational principles of most work management systems is the minimization of work in progress.? Individuals, work teams, functional departments and entire companies typically maximize their productivity by narrowly focusing on a limited set of tasks or objectives.? Most knowledge workers would readily agree with this principle, in theory.? However, in practice they violate it on a daily basis by routinely accepting innocuous requests that place future demands on their time and attention.?

?In his book A World Without Email, author Cal Newport underscores the insidious ways in which modern technology has lowered the barriers to making such requests.? One no longer needs to seek out a co-worker in person or prepare a formal request memo or even create a task ticket. ?They can simply send a Slack message with an innocent-sounding request .? A Slack message that takes 2 minutes to prepare may trigger several hours of work on the part of its recipient.? In the words of Kanban guru Jim Benson, individuals suffering from a habitual inability to say no become “an infinite reservoir for other people’s expectations.”

Prize engagement over execution

Constant communication with co-workers can engender a deep sense of social acceptance and self-worth which in turn becomes a principal source of job satisfaction.?? Ironically, the “bossware” surveillance tools that many companies use to monitor their employees’ online activities reinforce and reward this behavior.? Individuals who fail to virtually engage with their co-workers on a persistent basis are counseled to develop better teamwork habits and rewarded accordingly.

Screentime addiction

Knowledge workers use their laptops, tablets and smartphones interchangeably, to the point that they become essential prosthetic devices.? An inability to immediately locate one’s smartphone can trigger severe anxiety attacks clinically known as “nomophobia” (no-mobile-phone phobia).? Immediate screen access becomes a physical addiction.

?Screentime addicts obtain very little job satisfaction from physical encounters with co-workers.? They feel that they’re not doing real work unless they’re interacting with some type of computer screen.? Addicts take great pride in receiving weekly reports indicating that their screentime has actually increased week-over-week.? Longer screentimes are interpreted as a sign of higher levels of personal productivity.?

An instinctive tendency to do what is easy versus doing what is hard

This may be one of the most deep-seated and persistent human behaviors of all time.? It manifests itself in the workplace but also at home and in almost every aspect of daily life.? Despite the counsel of almost every time management guru to tackle the hardest tasks at the beginning of every day, many (most?) humans are instinctively drawn to the easiest tasks they need to perform.? There’s an innate belief that completing easy tasks first will create a sense of accomplishment and provide the momentum needed to tackle more challenging tasks later in the day.? In reality, the instinctive draw of easy work fuels procrastination and raises the dread and anxiety associated with the harder work that eventually needs to be done.?

?When the hard work deferred earlier in a day becomes unavoidable, it’s frequently tackled during the worst possible physiological moments such as late morning when most humans are recovering from their breakfast glucose spikes or midafternoon when they’re experiencing a midday energy lull.? This is not when most individuals typically produce their highest quality work.? ????

Uncontrollable urges to join personal social media channels throughout the work day

Although this behavior was briefly referenced during the discussion of context switching, it deserves special recognition as a particularly counterproductive habit.? The compulsive desire to maintain contact with friends, family and total strangers who have absolutely nothing to do with accomplishing work-related tasks throughout the work day is not only a diversion of time but more importantly a diversion of attention that can persist long after a personal text message or phone call is returned.? As noted earlier many individuals believe they are seasoned multitaskers who can not only juggle multiple work-related tasks but also juggle the immediate needs and emotions of their friends and families at the same time.?

?Periodic contact with non-co-workers can be healthy and refreshing during the work day.? In some instances it may be absolutely necessary.? But persistent use of personal social channels throughout the work day can become a chronic productivity killer.

AI cannot solve these problems!

?Every CIO knows that it’s easy to implement new forms of technology but it’s very, very hard to change human behavior.? ADHD behaviors in the modern workplace can’t easily be altered by implementing new tools or time management protocols.? Knowledge workers who wish to become more productive need to first acknowledge the existence of such behaviors, establish a genuine desire to change, develop new skills and habits, and seek support from co-workers who play an integral role in perpetuating workplace distractions.? ??????

?AI is not the easy answer for addressing these workplace issues.? In fact, the time savings delivered by AI-enabled automation might be inadvertently diverted to fuel the behaviors discussed above.? Perhaps AI adoption business cases need to account for compulsive workplace behaviors that potentially offset the productivity gains AI technology is expected to deliver?