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Eva Bujalka

A photo of a man on a leather armchair outside on a street.

Against Efficiency

Eva Bujalka, Overland, April 2022

This very necessary essay delves into the history of 'efficiency' as a concept and management tool, looking at how principles once vaunted as a means of freeing up time have morphed into a mindset that demands we use our free time to labour.

We are not living under twentieth-century Taylorism anymore, but an internalised version in which we ceaselessly monitor and manage ourselves. The growing pressure for people to optimise their free time – for instance, signing up to the work meditation app to manage work-stress – turns our free time into just another aspect of work.

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