Productivity is about working smarter and more deliberately instead of doing more, faster. ~Chris Bailey

In order to stay current with workforce trends, I make it a habit to read job postings. How positions, responsibilities, and expectations are described can reveal some general patterns. One of those patterns I’ve recently noticed is the significant number of job postings that include two statements: a fast-paced work environment, and the ability to multitask.

What I find truly fascinating about that pattern is that most organizations I know are also looking for ways to increase productivity and creativity/innovation.

In Chris Bailey’s book The Productivity Project he says that “research shows that it’s easier to think creatively when you’re calm and unhurried.” When was the last time you read a statement in a job posting that said something like, “ability to work in a calm and unhurried environment”?!

What about multitasking? Again Chris Bailey says, “Multitaskers perceived that they performed better, because their brains were more stimulated, but in every single study they performed worse.” If multitasking diminishes performance, then why are we not only including it in job descriptions but listing it as a requirement?

Chris Bailey is not alone in proposing that speed and multitasking conflicts with the outcomes desired by most leaders: productivity and creativity. Best-selling author Cal Newport in Deep Work says, “The law of productivity is: high-quality work = time spent x intensity of focus.” Newport also says, “In the absence of clear indicators of what it means to be productive and valuable in their jobs, many knowledge workers turn back toward an industrial indicator of productivity: doing lots of stuff in a visible manner.”

To add insult to injury, I can think of a number of recent instances where I’ve seen leaders promote or give a salary increase to individuals who were “doing lots of stuff in a visible manner.” We’re rewarding behavior that is actually contrary to achieving the outcomes we want: productivity and creativity.

I’ll admit, I probably have a biased perspective. My personality type is described as “moderate-paced, methodical, thoughtful, etc.” That said, I believe that our culture (U.S.) values fast-paced more so than moderate-paced. After all, we say it’s a requirement in many job descriptions. We’ve convinced ourselves that when our brains are more stimulated, as described by Bailey, that we are more productive, even though the research clearly concludes just the opposite. It’s almost as if a fast-paced environment is like a drug or stimulant, and we crave more, even though it’s not good for us. And what’s more fast-paced than multitasking? It’s kind of like being fast-paced on steroids.

Fast-paced and multitasking is nearly always not deliberate work. Synonyms of deliberate are careful, thoughtful, unhurried, cautious, measured, and purposeful.

Leaders should be modeling, and requiring, deliberate work. If your workplace is a fast-paced environment requiring multitasking, what’s that really accomplishing? The feeling of productivity or real productivity?