WAI/WAD

There’s an interesting concept around “Work as Imagined” versus “Work as Done”.  Until you’d first heard of it, you maybe didn’t consider the difference between them.  But when you are aware of it, it’s a very useful concept to keep in mind, especially if you’re a manager.

The idea that we imagine work differently to how work is actually done is not a big leap.

The ‘imagining’ of work incorporates the assumptions, expectations, and simplifications by someone perhaps not actually doing the work.

The ‘doing’ of the work incorporates working conditions, schedules, and variability that are hard to imagine correctly.