Job design and the time-money-quality triangle
It’s the most wonderful time of the year, tax season. While filling out my return (which I eagerly begin as soon as possible), I started to think about the time-money-quality triangle. On any project, such as tax preparation, you can generally maximize two dimensions of this triangle. The dimensions are having something done quickly (time), cheaply (money), or comprehensively (quality). If today is April 14th, and you need your taxes tomorrow, you can spend a lot of money to have someone prepare them for you overnight (time+quality). Or you can spend less money, and use an online interface to prepare the taxes yourself (money+quality).
This trade-off triangle can also be applied to your career. When choosing a job, you can generally maximize two dimensions as well. The dimensions are work-life balance (time), high pay (money), and work that gives your life more meaning (quality). When I worked in publishing, I justified the poor pay because the work was rewarding and the hours were good (time+quality). I have a friend who works as a lawyer, and the hours are terrible, but she is paid well, and she is passionate about what she does (money+quality). Another friend decided early on that he wanted to make enough money to support his lifestyle so he could spend more time playing music. He is happy to trade meaning at work for a stable job with good hours and income (time+money).
A note that this triangle mostly accounts for middle-class jobs in the US. There are many minimum wage jobs that don’t offer any trade-offs. In jobs with low pay and poor work-life balance, or when an inhumanly low minimum-wage forces people to work two jobs, the only option from the triangle may be finding meaning in the work. In their study on job crafting, Amy Wrzesniewski and Jane Dutton discovered that janitors working at a large hospital had changed the scope of their role in order to find more meaning in their work. In addition to cleaning up the hospital, they were doing additional activities to help patients heal. For example, one employee moved pictures on the walls in patient rooms in order to provide a more stimulating environment. Through job crafting, these employees were able to create personal meaning in their work, thus maximizing the quality side of the triangle.
I’ve seen similar job crafting at Designit. Several co-workers recently started an initiative to ensure that the products we design meet accessibility standards. Often the time and money sides of the job triangle are pre-determined when we take a job, and there isn’t much flexibility. Through job crafting, it’s possible to maximize the quality side of the triangle after you have started working.
When I talk to MBA students about career prospects, I encourage them to consider the time and quality sides of the job triangle. In my experience, MBA students tend to overestimate the value of money and underestimate the value of quality of life. When comparing jobs, I suggest that they divide the salary by the hours they will work at the job. An investment firm might offer a higher salary, but if employees work nights and weekend, it may be a worse offer than joining a tech firm that offers less money with eight hour days.
My other piece of advice is to consider the people they will be working with, and think about whether or not those relationship will enrich their lives. The best way I’ve found to minimize trade-offs in the time-money-quality triangle is to find a job where you are surrounded by a group of people you admire and can learn from. If you enjoy the time you spend at work, and you have enough time to pursue a life outside of work, it is likely you will also be able to engage in some job-crafting at work to expand the quality side of the triangle.
As employees, we can choose our job, and once we are working, we can expand the scope of our responsibilities. But it is the responsibility of employers to design good jobs. Due to automation, the nature of work is rapidly shifting, with the widespread creation and elimination of jobs across industries. Today, employers have the opportunity to design jobs that not only improve innovation and productivity, but that also increase the meaningfulness of work and quality of life of their employees.
