It sounds counter-intuitive that additional work can help us do our jobs better, but I recently read a study1 about how supplementary job tasks can increase productivity.
Types of Job Tasks
We can define a job as a group of tasks. The core task takes up the largest percentage of the worker’s time2. For example, a carpenter’s core task would be building furniture. As a professional organizer, my core task is organizing.
Each job also has facilitative supplementary tasks. These are infrequent but necessary chores that support the core task. Carpenters have to clean and maintain their tools and workshop. Professional organizers source products to help clients stay organized and look for places to sell or donate items.
There are also non- facilitative supplementary tasks. These chores, while they contribute to the business overall, do not directly support the core task. As any business owner knows, there are plenty of these job tasks – from social media marketing to bookkeeping to planning the company barbeque.
The Effect on Productivity
Over the years, various studies have looked at the relationship between job tasks and overall productivity with varying results. However, this recent study found that facilitative supplementary tasks increased productivity on the core task, while non-facilitative tasks decreased productivity on the core task.
The results indicated that adding almost any facilitative supplementary task to an employee’s schedule can boost productivity by up to 10%. And, that boost lasts for nearly two weeks afterwards. The theory is that when employees perform facilitative supplementary tasks, they see how those tasks support their core task and that contributes to their increased productivity.
On the other hand, when workers performed non-facilitative supplementary tasks that did not relate to their core task, their productivity did not increase. This was true even if the workers understood the value of the duties within the overall company.
Make Job Tasks Work for You
If you are a solopreneur, you are responsible for all of your job tasks. It might make sense for you to hand-off your non-facilitative tasks such as hiring activities, bookkeeping, or social media marketing to an outside expert. This will allow you to focus on your core and facilitative tasks and keep you productive.
If you have employees, it helps to determine which supplementary tasks support each employee’s core tasks and assign them accordingly. Consider, however, whether or not a supplemental task is facilitative depends on how employees will interpret the task. So it is essential to involve employees in the process of assigning duties.
Some duties fall outside of all core tasks, such as planning company social activities. Often those are given to an employee based on seniority or gender (yes, this still happens). Instead, seek out employees who appreciate the value that social activities add to company morale. You might discover that you have more productive and enthusiastic employees – and more entertaining social events.
For more advice on time management and productivity or to book a virtual workshop, contact Out of Chaos.
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References
- Ranganathan, Aruna. “When the Tasks Line Up: How the Nature of Supplementary Tasks Affects Worker Productivity.” Stanford Graduate School of Business, Stanford Graduate School of Business, 11 Aug. 2020, gsb.stanford.edu/faculty-research/working-papers/when-tasks-line-how-nature-supplementary-tasks-affects-worker.
- Chown, Jillian. “Financial Incentives and Professionals’ Work Tasks: The Moderating Effects of Jurisdictional Dominance and Prominence.” Organization Science, vol. 31, no. 4, 2020, pp. 887–908., doi:10.1287/orsc.2019.1334.
