Found this old blog post yesterday, and I think it is still valid.
The Productivity Myth - Wednesday May 5, 2010 - By Tony Schwartz
So here's the paradox: Americans are working 10 percent fewer total hours than they did before the recession, due to layoffs and shortened workdays, but we're producing nearly as many goods and services as we did back in the full employment days of 2007.
Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke called these gains in productivity "extraordinary" and unforeseen at a recent Senate hearing.
There's a simple, visceral reason for the gains, Mr. Chairman, and it's called fear. If colleagues around us are being laid off and cut back, we can't help worrying that our jobs may be next. Our survival instincts kick in, and we push ourselves harder, so we're not the next one to go. We get more done, which sounds like good news and certainly explains higher productivity.
Read the full post >>> http://blogs.hbr.org/schwartz/2010/05/the-productivity-myth.html
The Productivity Myth - Wednesday May 5, 2010 - By Tony Schwartz
So here's the paradox: Americans are working 10 percent fewer total hours than they did before the recession, due to layoffs and shortened workdays, but we're producing nearly as many goods and services as we did back in the full employment days of 2007.
Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke called these gains in productivity "extraordinary" and unforeseen at a recent Senate hearing.
There's a simple, visceral reason for the gains, Mr. Chairman, and it's called fear. If colleagues around us are being laid off and cut back, we can't help worrying that our jobs may be next. Our survival instincts kick in, and we push ourselves harder, so we're not the next one to go. We get more done, which sounds like good news and certainly explains higher productivity.
Read the full post >>> http://blogs.hbr.org/schwartz/2010/05/the-productivity-myth.html