Live from the Southern Management Association conference in St. Pete Beach, FL, Frank and Paul interview Cornel University's Dr. Mike Lynn, arguably the world's foremost researcher on service tipping. We discuss the pros and cons of tipping as a form of compensation, demographic differences in tipping rates and, of course, the sudden proliferation of tipping into seemingly every facet of our lives. If you're tired of tipping at self-service cash registers, you'll enjoy this o...
Nov 15, 2023•1 hr 28 min•Season 3Ep. 59
Fans of American College Football were recently treated to a baffling display of heroic determination. Needing only to touch a kneecap to a blade of grass to secure a hard fought victory, the University of Miami's gridiron team bravely stole defeat from the jaws of victory. How? With unnecessary busywork, of course. Come visit us at busynessparadox.com to see episode transcripts, blog posts and other content while you’re there!...
Oct 18, 2023•58 min•Season 3Ep. 58
Larry Thornton and Dave Ketchen join us to discuss their award-winning graphic novel, "You Have to Live, Why Not Win?" and Larry's journey from racial segregation to success as an entrepreneur, author, teacher and artist. This is our most inspirational interview yet and will make you question your perceptions of yourself and others. In a good way. We promise. If you listen to one episode of the Busyness Paradox, make sure it's this one. As Frank summarized in his review of th...
Sep 20, 2023•1 hr 24 min•Season 3Ep. 57
We humans have a love/hate relationship with change. Many of us are probably alive today because some cave-dwelling ancestor said “on second thought, let’s not try that new shortcut through viper country cousin Erg suggested before he mysteriously disappeared.” Yet we also fear the consequences of NOT changing with the times: obsolescence, boredom and generally getting left behind as the world moves on. And so we cling to the familiar, instinctively pushing back against the mere suggestion that ...
Jul 10, 2023•53 min•Season 2Ep. 56
Have you ever gotten a pay raise and then, looking back, sort of wished you hadn't? It's become a surprisingly common phenomenon as employees have found hidden strings attached to the Covid-era generosity shown by employers. To discuss this unusual predicament, we sought out someone with a usual perspective on the workplace: meet Dr. Caleb Sanchez, a former police officer turned business psychologist. Join us as Dr. Sanchez, founder of Executive Equilibrium , shares his advice for adju...
May 31, 2023•49 min•Season 2Ep. 55
With all the fanfare about artificial intelligence these past few months, listeners have asked us: "Will ChatGPT put an end to busywork?" Like all self-appointed experts, we took the question straight to ChatGPT. It tells us that "ChatGPT is designed to provide automated assistance and support...helping employees perform tasks more efficiently and effectively, reducing the amount of busywork they need to do." We’re…cautiously optimistic. Come visit us at busynessparadox.com t...
Apr 17, 2023•56 min•Season 2Ep. 54
It’s that time of year when endless news reports about March Madness-related “time theft” bubble up to the surface (get it? like teams on the bubble? anyone?) They all bemoan the incalculable dollar amount, which dozens of studies nonetheless claim to calculate, lost to employees watching basketball instead of working. Our take: if your employees are doing what you pay them to do and you’re furious that they didn’t do more because they were watching basketball, you’re the time thief. Mentioned i...
Mar 22, 2023•46 min•Season 2Ep. 53
Join us as we pat ourselves on the back for reaching the fabled 52-episode milestone. Because 52 is way more exciting than 50. Not because we had already passed 50 episodes without realizing it. Why would you even think that? Anyways, publishing 52 episodes has taught us that podcasting shares a (wait for it…) paradox with many seemingly simple jobs: the more skill and effort you put into it, the less skill and effort the average consumer thinks it requires. This is a frustration well-known to c...
Mar 17, 2023•1 hr 10 min•Season 2Ep. 52
We all know the story. After worshipping at the altar of "lean" for decades, we spent two years wondering where all the toilet paper and pickup trucks went. Covid reminded us that too much efficiency could be colossally inefficient, slack was back, hooray. Then you tried to board that Southwest flight a couple months ago and you realized the germ-like aversion to slack had taken root far beyond the manufacturing sector. In this episode, we discuss how keeping "slack in the system&...
Feb 20, 2023•49 min•Season 2Ep. 51
If you're like us, you grew up being told that American labor unions were a fading relic of the past. After a string of successful organizing drives and a stunning 406 strikes in 2022, we're beginning to question that assumption. Reflecting on the ongoing labor strife in the American railroad industry, we decided it was time to bring in an expert to discuss the current state of organized labor in the U.S. In this episode, Dan Gilmore , Attorney at Law and Founder of Squire Strategies ,...
Jan 30, 2023•1 hr 2 min•Season 2Ep. 50
Back in March 2020, millions of workers around the world abruptly learned that their jobs didn't always require their presence at a specific desk in a specific building at a specific set of times each and every week. After a bumpy start, many began to appreciate the flexibility, autonomy and, to varying degrees, empowerment this new approach to work afforded. Others decided it wasn't for them. A few decided it wasn't for anyone. That a vocal minority is bent on pushing us all back...
Jan 12, 2023•51 min•Season 2Ep. 49
“Everyone’s got a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” So says Mike Tyson, and so it is with layoffs. No one starts a new job expecting it to end with a pink-slip. Even when the grim employment reaper is seen milling about our own workplace, it’s easy to convince ourselves that he’s only harvesting other people’s jobs. And yet, almost half of us will be downsized at least once in our careers. Join us as we discuss some warning signs and proactive steps to take when layoffs are afoot. Also,...
Dec 13, 2022•44 min•Season 2Ep. 48
Almost three years in, we think it's safe to conclude that history will view the 2020's as "an interesting time to be alive." But a silver lining of these turbulent times has been the widespread rethinking about how work should "work." The resulting push toward previously-unthinkable levels of flexibility, empowerment and compensation has met with some friction, however. The resulting labor unrest, strikes, and (our favorite) the paradoxical threat of widespread lay...
Sep 27, 2022•51 min•Season 2Ep. 47
By now you've probably heard about "quiet quitting," the latest workplace trend to blow the minds of journalists and social media posters alike. This stunning act of rebellion involves employees doing the work they are paid to do. Seriously. That's what quiet quitting is. It's neither quiet nor quitting, but it's a movement nonetheless. The hoopla, of course, is about what these mutinous workers are NOT doing. They're not making charitable donations of their ti...
Sep 12, 2022•48 min•Season 2Ep. 46
We've all seen the signs and memes. We've heard the cranky scorn from talking heads, business owners, politicians and old men yelling at clouds. No one (except them) wants to work anymore! Everyone (except them) is lazy! In this episode, we challenge the ironically lazy thinking behind these claims and ask those who feel this way to consider an alternative explanation: maybe people just don't want to work for you? Mentioned in this Episode: 16:21 - A Brief History of Nobody Wants ...
Aug 27, 2022•33 min•Season 2Ep. 45
You asked us to talk more about four-day work weeks, we did you one better. Join us for a discussion with Charlotte Lockhart, founder and managing director of the 4 Day Week Global Foundation! With operations in North America, Australia, New Zealand, the UK and Europe, Charlotte and her husband, Andrew Barnes (author of The 4 Day Week), are at the literal forefront of this movement. If you’ve ever questioned the Monday-Friday, one-size-fits-all approach to work scheduling, we think you'll l...
Aug 02, 2022•48 min•Season 2Ep. 44
With all the changes brought about by Covid-19, you might not be surprised to hear about a huge uptick in research on the effects of shortened work weeks. You might be surprised to hear that this sudden burst of scholarly interest began - and ended - in the 1970s. What did our (presumably) bell-bottomed forebears learn about the pros and cons of ditching the traditional five-day workweek? Why did it take a pandemic to rekindle our interest? Visit us at busynessparadox.com for the transcript to t...
Jul 06, 2022•36 min•Season 2Ep. 43
There is such a thing as "good" busyness - that baseline euphoria you feel when you're humming along, pummeling your to-do list like it owes you money. There's also such a thing as fake busyness - that absurd phenomenon where adults convene in an office and pretend to be doing important work stuff. Look over at your employees or coworkers. Which type of busyness do you see? Are you sure? Join us as we discuss the telltale signs of a culture that rewards fake busyness and some...
Jun 01, 2022•30 min•Season 2Ep. 42
That's it! We're starting a church... Links to articles, episodes and topics discussed in this episode: 0:30 - The U.S. tried permanent daylight saving time in the 1970s — then quickly rejected it 2:10 - What Happened the Last Time the U.S. Tried to Make Daylight Saving Time Permanent? 3:30 - The Nocturnals 5:40 - Nixing Busyness with Niksen 13:42 - We Put the Cult in Culture 17:11 - Goldman Sachs wants workers back in office 5 days a week—‘a stampede’ of other companies could follow, ...
May 18, 2022•34 min•Season 2Ep. 41
Every few months someone proclaims the death of this working-from-home silliness. Citing indisputably indisputable sources, they assure us that our long nightmare of comfort and efficiency is over. "Rejoice!" they tell us! All who toil in their comfy clothes under the scornful eye of their pet cat, "Buttons"...fear not! The commutes, cubicles, and in-person meetings that are the God-given right of every man, woman and child with at least an associates degree from a regionally...
Apr 23, 2022•33 min•Season 2Ep. 40
Been a whole lot of quitting goin' on these past couple years. Early on we celebrated triumphant stories of the over-worked and under-appreciated declaring that enough was enough. These days we're hearing less inspiring tales, where reasonably content employees change jobs and find that the greener pasture they sought was actually an algae-covered swamp. Join us as we lean heavily on internet dating metaphors to describe the simple tactics employees and employers can use to look before...
Apr 11, 2022•31 min•Season 2Ep. 39
Here at the Busyness Paradox, we share a deep and sincere commitment to not giving a rat's a** about the antics of the inexplicably famous. But we bear no ill will toward those who lean in to the meta-paradoxical wonderland of unearned success and fame derived from being famous. Except when the undisputed queen of this leisure class declares 51% of the population to be lazy dregs who "don't want to work." We don't know much about you Kim Kardashian, but we've got a ...
Apr 04, 2022•34 min•Season 2Ep. 38
Excessive busyness is bad, especially when you don't have enough of it. Not gonna lie, even we at “The Busyness Paradox” didn’t see that busyness paradox coming. Two researchers in France did, however, and we’re joined by one of them! Dr. Ioana Lupu’s recently-published study shows how our relentless pursuit of “optimal busyness” - that euphoric, Goldilocks state of productivity that exists between being underworked and overwhelmed, and always seems juuust out of reach - can lead us down th...
Mar 21, 2022•49 min•Season 2Ep. 37
As the Business Paradox returns from a quick break, we take a few minutes to answer your questions, take stock of the Business Paradox's first 15 months of existence, and reflect on the time we started a heated hoodie cult. Come visit us at busynessparadox.com to see episode transcripts, blog posts and other content while you’re there!
Mar 14, 2022•52 min•Season 2Ep. 36
This just in: A guy asked for a billion-dollar bonus. Late-breaking reports (from last week) indicate that it went...poorly. As always, The Busyness Paradox is nowhere near the action, bringing you our on-the-spot analysis of this ballsy Bolivian billionaire's brash beatdown (fine, "Bolivian-American" but we had a good thing going with that alliteration). Mentioned in this "breaking news" episode: Masayoshi Son - Founder, CEO and Chairman of SoftBank, CEO of Softbank Mob...
Feb 04, 2022•16 min•Season 1Ep. 35
What’s a paradoxical pay raise? It’s the kind where you get a raise and earn less than you did before. “Impossible!” you say? Odds are good you’ll soon think differently. On the one hand, companies big and small are socking away money to dole out raises in 2022. On the other, inflation is licking its lips, ready to devour those raises and go back for seconds. Join us as we discuss strategies for navigating this bumpy terrain with your buying power (mostly) intact. Mentioned in This Episode: 7:33...
Jan 31, 2022•28 min•Season 1Ep. 34
Believe it or not, there was a time when having house cats interrupt work meetings was considered weird. Alas, we’ve been doing this pandemic thing for almost two years now and things have changed. We decided it was a good time to get a boots-on-the-ground perspective on just what those changes look like and how real-world companies have adapted. Join us as we discuss the new world of leadership, sales, work/life-balance, Zoom mishaps and much more with guest Curt Tueffert , Vice President of Sa...
Jan 17, 2022•50 min•Season 1Ep. 33
It’s time for one of our favorite new year’s traditions: blatantly ripping off another podcast’s new year’s tradition! Taking inspiration from the excellent Cortex show’s use of yearly themes, we take stock of our “Year of Structure” and look ahead to 2022’s theme. Join our discussion about how the “annual theme” approach can improve your work and non-work lives and let us know what wacky workplace topics you’d like us to dig into in the year ahead. Stuff Mentioned In This Episode: 0:32 - Cortex...
Jan 09, 2022•37 min•Season 1Ep. 32
*****BREAKING NEWS!!!****** Your (sort of) regularly scheduled episode of The Busyness Paradox has been postponed so that we can bring you coverage of a stunning development unfolding in Germany. Just moments ago, we learned that, 8 days ago, a German court single-handedly raised the bar for paradoxical workplace...stuff. In its landmark ruling, the Bundessozialgericht ruled that injuries sustained during an employee's morning commute from his bed to his desk constitute a workplace injury b...
Dec 18, 2021•11 min•Season 1Ep. 31
Many people experience job burnout at some point in their lives. When they do, it's often the boss that takes the blame. But what happens when the boss burns out? Companies have been learning the answer to that question the hard way since the pandemic started. While executives develop policies to meet employees' needs for safe and flexible work arrangements, the actual implementation of these ever-changing policies has quietly pushed many a boss to the brink. Join us as we tip our caps...
Dec 10, 2021•30 min•Season 1Ep. 30
