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Work Burnout And “The Christmas Tree Effect”
If you are unfamiliar with “The Christmas Tree Effect,” it is mentioned here:
The basic idea is: we think that you solve problems by adding more, but in reality you often solve problems by taking away stuff that doesn’t need to be there in the first place.
Some professor in that article even notes:
Modern work is nightmarishly insidious about adding stuff to our plates. The cure is to get your group together and ask: What do we still do that is adding needless friction, or is no longer useful — and then stop doing those things.
Hard to say it more simply than that.
The problem with modern work, or at least modern white-collar work, for a lot of people is that there’s an awful intersection many of us find ourselves at eventually:
- Our boss is not very competent or capable.
