Don’t be lazy!

This isn’t the age of laziness. If anything, it’s the age of constant running and stumbling. Being rushed has its own fallouts but being lazy has been out of fashion for a long time now. Unfortunately, the HR folks (including myself) have been lazy for a while now. Why do I say this? I don’t see us throwing a lot of facts and figures around. We don’t have much of an excuse for not doing it anymore. Researches are being conducted on almost everything these days. It just takes a little bit of effort on our part to go out there and google or scan our databases for relevant statistics and research that will help us make our case. All our pitches will get that much richer!

Now I don’t mean that you clutter your presentations with irrelevant statistics. It will take work to pull out relevant material. Also, there is a lot of contradictory data out there. One survey will talk about how important it is to be running all the time while another will give you good facts as to why you must slow down. Make sure you pick what fits your organization, situation and intention the best.

While you mull over that, here are some fun facts on laziness:

• A 1931 survey found that high school students were more likely to attribute their failing performance to laziness, while teachers ranked “lack of ability” as the major cause, with laziness coming in second.^[1]
• Researchers at the University of Missouri have deduced that genetic traits might make some people prone to low motivation and inactivity.
• Data suggest that diet-induced obesity is a cause of laziness.