The productivity paradox: when working harder doesn't mean getting ahead

by Juan José Varela

We have never had so many digital tools, nor so much pressure to do more. However, the results do not always match the effort. According to ECLAC/ILO, labor productivity has grown by less than 1% in most Latin American and Caribbean economies over the last decade. And it is not a lack of commitment: it is a lack of focus.

Organizations don't need to work harder; they need to free up capacity and direct it where it really generates value.

1. The hidden cost of meetings

Meetings have become one of the biggest time thieves. Executives around the world spend an average of 23 hours a week in low-value meetings (Harvard Business Review). The change is not in having fewer meetings, but in having better meetings: with a clear purpose, mandatory pre-reading, and decisions at the end. When the agenda focuses on solving problems rather than talking, executive time becomes a scarce but productive asset.

2. Automate what does not add value

In about 60% of all occupations, at least 30% of activities can be automated today (McKinsey). Manual reports, reconciliations, repetitive approvals. Every hour freed up from these activities is an hour that can be invested in customers, innovation, or leadership. True productivity is not about doing more, but about shifting energy toward what creates value.

3. Multitasking: the invisible enemy

Constantly changing context erodes concentration and deteriorates the quality of output. MIT Sloan estimates that multitasking can reduce productivity by 25%. The most effective organizations protect focus time with the same seriousness with which they manage their budget: fewer simultaneous projects, blocks of deep work, and metrics that measure progress, not activity.

4. Productivity as a system, not an initiative

Treating productivity as an isolated project guarantees that it will fade away over time. What works is to establish it as a structural discipline, integrated into the committee's agenda and incentive systems. Companies that do so achieve between 3 and 5 percentage points more profitability than their peers (Bain), not by working harder, but by working smarter.

The productivity paradox is not solved with more effort, but with more discernment.

Companies that thrive are not those that demand more hours, but those that design structures that protect focus and turn time into a competitive advantage.

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Does your company measure how much of the work done is transformed into value? If you feel that you are working harder but making less progress, it is time to review your management system.

At SummaPartners, we help design structures that transform effort into sustainable results. Let's talk.

About the author

Juan José Varela is a partner at SummaPartners and has more than 15 years of experience leading strategic planning, restructuring, organizational design, and commercial strategy projects.