Comfort culture: Overemployed
Exploring the Rise of Comfort Culture and Its Impact on Productivity in the US
This week, I’m back on the East Coast of the US. During my last visit in the Spring, I explored factors driving economic activity and productivity. This time, I want to dive into a growing trend: the tension between traditional productivity culture and the rise of "comfort culture."
What is Comfort Culture?
In some US business communities, a new narrative has emerged around employee comfort being prioritised at the expense of productivity at times. This shift, often linked to the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, has sparked debates about the long-term sustainability of this approach.
What makes the workplace culture more “comfortable”?
Some examples of what can help the workplace more comfortable for employees include:
Remote working arrangements
Flexible working arrangements
Offering wellbeing support through work (not all examples of which are evidence based)
Promoting clear boundary setting between work and life
Enhanced office perks
Is the Productivity vs. Comfort Debate Legit?
The dichotomy between productivity and comfort is largely artificial. In fact, there is often synergy between these two concepts. For example, corporations offering on-site gyms or free meals often keep employees at work longer, boosting productivity as a result. Similarly, a remote workforce can be highly productive and enable significant savings on real estate, depending on the nature of the work.
What’s critical is examining the working conditions that actually drive productivity while also building compensation packages that support employee well-being.
The Role of Comfort Culture in Overemployment
One interesting phenomenon related to comfort culture is overemployment, where an individual works two full-time jobs simultaneously. This isn't about a side hustle but about holding two full-time (or close to full-time) positions. In some industries, like technology startups, it has become more common for workers to float the idea of keeping their existing job at a big tech FANG company while taking on a second role at a startup.
The primary benefit? Doubling up on salaries and compensation perks. While it may seem incompatible to hold down a full time big tech role while working full time and delivering in a high-stress startup environment, the fact that these conversations are happening suggests overemployment is becoming more normalised.
Ethical and Logistical Questions Around Overemployment
Overemployment raises serious ethical and legal questions: Is it possible to give your full attention to two full-time jobs? Clearly not if it involves being in two places at once but what if both jobs involve lots of asynchronous work? Critics of comfort culture argue that overemployment is a symptom of inadequate demands and too much flexibility in the workplace.
However, others point out that overemployment has existed for centuries, though interestingly this was primarily lower down the socioeconomic ladder. For example, workers during the Industrial Revolution often worked 16-hour days and took on piecework outside of their primary job.
Overemployment in Different Contexts
Overemployment can take many forms beyond holding two full-time salaried jobs. For example, it has become more common for remote workers to juggle caring responsibilities with their job. Even in careers with clear trajectories like medicine, people often take on significant amounts of unpaid academic work or teaching outside of their clinical roles to build the credibility that can be necessary to get a promotion.
In the UK, controversy has arisen over members of parliament holding additional high-paying jobs, raising questions about conflicts of interest but also about whether they can truly dedicate enough time to their primary responsibilities.
The Gig Economy and Zero-Hours Contracts
At the opposite end of the spectrum, workers on zero-hours contracts or gig platforms often find themselves in precarious situations, juggling multiple jobs adding up to far more than a full-time equivalent role, just to make ends meet without the security of a full-time position.
The Future of Comfort Culture and Overemployment
In the past, overemployment has generally been driven by necessity. This definitely still happens in the gig economy. But in the future, overemployment could become an indicator of the choice, comfort and privilege that comes with flexible working conditions. Maybe people with the most comfort at work will be able to make space and open up scope for more work, in order to reap more benefits. This could flip overemployment from lower skilled workers in insecure employment to skilled workers in well compensated roles, and further polarise the labour market and socioeconomic forces.
