The slow food and slow parenting movements are gaining popularity with people who want to live more mindful lives, and the same effect has trickled into the workplace. For years, workplace best practices said to move at a rapid-fire pace and get as much done as possible, but this has led to a hectic, panicked, stress-inducing environment.
Moving too fast and accomplishing too much can harm productivity and output. In this post, we'll examine the harm in hurrying and the benefits of slowing down.
What’s the Harm in Hurrying?
If we’re all operating at the same harried pace, what’s the problem? We may all do the same things, but that doesn’t mean we do them right. In fact, our rushed culture has many shortcomings, including poor communication, stress, and the emphasis of quantity over quality.
What Is Slow Work?
“Slow work” doesn’t refer to taking longer to achieve the same results or moving at a snail’s pace. Instead, the slow work movement is characterized by taking breaks, genuinely connecting with colleagues, and optimizing technology to improve your communication and reduce the amount of time you spend on each task. Slow work is more deliberate. Examples can include clearing off your desk and sitting down with one assignment, rather than flipping through multiple projects while toggling back and forth between your computer and your phone.
How Can I Slow Down at Work?
Believe it or not, you can be more productive when you slow down because you’re targeting fewer areas at once. This allows you to sharpen your focus and accomplish more instead of being only partially committed to a variety of tasks. As a recruiter or hiring manager, delegate tasks to team members so you can focus on one or two aspects of the hiring process rather than micro-managing every detail. For example, have someone do preliminary resume reviews to free up your time so you can drill down on generating new clients or working on higher-level placements instead of rushing to do it all yourself. Working as a team allows everyone to share the workload and reduces the strain on any one individual, allowing for more clarity and purposeful accomplishments from everyone.
How Can Slow Work Benefit Recruiting?
Recruiting is all about finding meaningful connections with candidates. If you can’t do this, you’re either dealing with the wrong candidates, or you’re not engaging with the people that may be right in front of you.
While it may seem counterintuitive for someone used to dealing with people all day, a slow recruiter strives to spend time alone at work and take breaks. When you take time for yourself, you can reflect on the tasks at hand and grow attuned to what you need to accomplish. When you run around like crazy, you have no time for that kind of insight. After a break or some quiet time spent concentrating on a task, you can return to meetings with candidates with a sense of focus, rather than a mindset of constant rushing.
Slowing down doesn’t mean lagging behind while others jump ahead. In fact, the opposite is true. When you learn to embrace the slow work movement, you’ll find yourself ahead of the game — a leader who can establish genuine connections and recruit with a sharp sense of clarity.
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