Don’t work hard. Work smart.
I hear this phrase a lot. It means that if you plan carefully and use your brain, you can get away with doing less physical work. An example might be delegating (giving responsibilities to other workers) to reduce your own workload. Another example that is more applicable to teaching is the use of downloading material. There are plenty of materials available on the internet, so creating your own lesson could be a waste of energy. Why not use those resources?
This is a phrase that I don’t really like. The assumption is that if you apply intelligence, you can get away with doing less physical work. My response is, “Why not both?” To me “Don’t work hard. Work smart.” is a statement of laziness. I know I am in the minority with this opinion.
However, there is merit to this statement. Working harder does not mean you will be successful or even that your efforts will be appreciated. So, I can understand why people would adopt this phrase as their mantra (a core belief that is often restated). Some people have pointed out that I am a workaholic. Not only do I put a lot of effort into my job, but I also have this website, a Facebook group, and YouTube channel that I am currently running. It can be frustrating to see people (who put in low effort) doing well when my high effort usually goes unnoticed. Well, if you are reading this, I know you care 😊 But, it doesn’t bother me too much. I like doing this stuff.
The assumption that jobs can always be done ‘smarter’ with less effort is also problematic. First, some people believe that intelligence is fixed (you are born with a certain ability). So, asking them to be smarter can be seen as rude. Second, people can spend too much time trying to figure out how to do a job smarter. They could have just finished the job if they put the effort in. Finally, “Don’t work hard. Work smart.” implies that the job should be easy. Sometimes we just need hard-working people to complete difficult tasks.
It seems that this phrase originated from a 1930s industrial engineer who would say, “work smarter, not harder.” His name was Allen F. Morgenstern, and he was considered an efficiency expert.
Do you agree that we should not work harder, but smarter? Or do you think that hard work has value?
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Reference:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-i-hate-phrase-work-smarter-harder-allison-tetreault