Singapore has earned a reputation as a bustling hub of activity and a country that thrives on its fast-paced lifestyle. However, a recent eye-opening survey has cast a spotlight on the notion that the appearance of being busy might not necessarily translate to actual productivity.
The survey’s findings reveal that workers in Asia spend a considerable amount of time engaged in “performative work” instead of actually working, with Singapore ranking third in the world on this ranking.
Unmasking the Illusion: Busy vs. Productive
In a global study conducted by Salesforce subsidiary Slack and research firm Qualtrics, over 18,000 desk workers from nine countries, including India, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, the United States, Australia, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, participated.
The study, titled ‘The State of Work in 2023,’ aimed to dissect and comprehend the intricate relationship between appearing busy and actual productivity in the modern workplace.
The Asian Paradox: A Deeper Dive
One of the most thought-provoking discoveries of the survey was the prevalence of “performative work” across Asian countries.
Singapore, often referred to one of the most fast paced countries in the world, emerged as the third-ranked country globally for this performative work phenomenon.
This term encapsulates activities where teams spend significant time in meetings showcasing achievements, rather than making impactful decisions or addressing core issues.
Derek Laney, Slack’s “technology evangelist” for Asia-Pacific, aptly highlighted this paradox by underscoring how much of this time is spent in the appearance of productivity rather than actual meaningful output.
The Statistical Breakdown
Digging into the statistics, the survey divulged compelling insights into the distribution of time spent on performative work across various nations.
Notably, workers from India, Japan, and Singapore reported dedicating a significant chunk of their work hours to performative activities. The breakdown of time allocation for performative work was as follows:
Intriguingly, Singapore and Japan found themselves sharing the second-lowest spot in terms of time allocated to productive work, with each country dedicating only 63% of their work time to actual meaningful tasks.
India, on the other hand, ranked at the bottom of the list, with just 57% of its work time devoted to productive endeavors.
The Impact on Productivity and Leadership
The survey’s ramifications extend beyond mere statistics. It has unveiled a noteworthy disparity between how leaders perceive productivity and how workers yearn to be evaluated.
Leaders at the workplace tend to assess productivity based on visible activities, often overlooking the more tangible outputs such as Key Performance Indexes (KPIs).
A staggering 27% of the surveyed executives confessed to gauging productivity primarily through visual cues.
Conversely, 27% of workers expressed their desire to be evaluated based on their ability to achieve KPIs and meet goals.
This discrepancy leads to a disheartening “disconnect” as highlighted by Derek Laney. Employees find themselves expending excessive effort in projecting a facade of productivity to please their superiors, inadvertently diverting energy from genuinely meaningful contributions.