When it’s five o’clock, people leave their office. The length of the workday, for many workers, is defined by time. They leave when the clocks tell them they're done.
These days, the time is everywhere: not just on clocks or watches, but on cellphones and computers. That may be a bad thing, particularly at work. New research shows that clock-based work schedules get in the way of creativity.
Clock-timers organize their day by blocks of minutes and hours, for example, a meeting from 9 a. m. to 10 a. m. , research from 10 a. m. to noon, etc. On the other hand, task-timers have a list of things they want to accomplish. They work down the list, and each task starts when the previous task is completed. It is said that all of us employ a mix of both these types of planning.
What, then, are the effects of thinking about time in these different ways? Does one make us more productive? Better at the tasks at hand? Happier? In experiments conducted by Tamar Avnet and Anne-Laure Sellier, they had participants organize different activities from project planning, holiday shopping to yoga by time or the to-do list to measure how they performed under "clock time" vs " task time”. They found clock-timers to be more efficient(有效率的) but less happy because they felt little control over their lives. Task-timers were happier and more creative, but less productive. They tended to enjoy the moment when something good was happening, and seized opportunities that came up.
The researchers argue that task-based organizing tends to be undervalued and not be supported in the business culture. This might be a small change to the way we view work and the office, but the researchers argue that it challenges a widespread characteristic of the economy: work organized by clock time. While most people will still probably need, and be, to some extent, clock-timers, task-based timing should be used when we are performing a job that requires more creativity. It'll make those tasks easier, and the task-doers will be happier.
1.What does the author say about clock-based work?
A.It makes workers very tired.
B.It reminds workers to come to the office on time.
C.It makes workers aware of the precious time.
D.It may have a bad effect on the creativity.
2.What did Tamar Avnet and Anne-Laure Sellier find in their experiments about clock-timers?
A.They seized opportunities as they came up.
B.They always got their work done in time.
C.They tended to be more productive.
D.They could control their life.
3.What do the researchers suggest?
A.Task-based timing is preferred for doing creative work.
B.It is important to keep a balance between work and life.
C.Performing creative jobs tends to make workers happier.
D.A scientific standard should be adopted in job judgement.
