Work For Humans

Time Poverty at Work: What It Costs and How to Reclaim Your Time | Ashley Whillans


Listen Later

Ashley Whillans has spent years studying how time, money, and workplace culture shape our well-being. As a behavioral scientist at Harvard Business School, she’s found that time poverty is more than a personal stressor—it’s a leadership challenge, an organizational blind spot, and one of the biggest barriers to well-being at work.

In this episode, Dart and Ashley talk about why traditional perks miss the point, why more control over your time can matter more than a raise, and what it looks like to build companies where people actually have time to think, rest, and grow. They explore urgency culture, the myth of work-life balance, and the tradeoffs we make without realizing it.

Ashley Whillans is a professor at Harvard Business School and the author of Time Smart. Her research has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Harvard Business Review.

In this episode, Dart and Ashley discuss:
- How time poverty affects performance and well-being
- Why leaders should care about how their teams spend time
- The limits of traditional perks
- How to shift from burnout to sustainability
- Why work-life balance is a myth—and what matters more
- What “time affluence” really means
- And other topics…

Ashley Whillans is the Volpert Family Associate Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. Her work focuses on how people spend their time and money—and how those choices shape happiness and success. She is the author of Time Smart, a book that helps people reclaim time in a world that constantly steals it. Ashley’s research has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Harvard Business Review. Her PhD from the University of British Columbia earned the 2018 CAGS Distinguished Dissertation Award in Canada for her work on time and happiness.

Resources Mentioned:
Time Smart: How to Reclaim Your Time and Live a Happier Life, by Ashley Whillans: https://www.amazon.com/Time-Smart-Reclaim-Your-Happier/dp/1633698351

Connect with Ashley:
Harvard Business School profile: hbs.edu/faculty/ashley-whillans 

Work with Dart:
Dart is the CEO and co-founder of the work design firm 11fold. Build work that makes employees feel alive, connected to their work, and focused on what’s most important to the business. Book a call at 11fold.com.

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Work For HumansBy Dart Lindsley

  • 5
  • 5
  • 5
  • 5
  • 5

5

32 ratings


More shows like Work For Humans

View all
Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! by NPR

Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!

38,713 Listeners

HBR IdeaCast by Harvard Business Review

HBR IdeaCast

177 Listeners

The Moth by The Moth

The Moth

27,325 Listeners

99% Invisible by Roman Mars

99% Invisible

26,166 Listeners

The School of Greatness by Lewis Howes

The School of Greatness

21,305 Listeners

Invisibilia by NPR

Invisibilia

21,657 Listeners

Science Vs by Spotify Studios

Science Vs

12,103 Listeners

Pivot by New York Magazine

Pivot

9,257 Listeners

Pod Save America by Crooked Media

Pod Save America

86,750 Listeners

The Daily by The New York Times

The Daily

111,917 Listeners

Nudge by Phill Agnew

Nudge

170 Listeners

The Prof G Pod with Scott Galloway by Vox Media Podcast Network

The Prof G Pod with Scott Galloway

5,414 Listeners

The Greg McKeown Podcast by Greg McKeown

The Greg McKeown Podcast

950 Listeners

The Ezra Klein Show by New York Times Opinion

The Ezra Klein Show

15,335 Listeners

Prof G Markets by Vox Media Podcast Network

Prof G Markets

1,170 Listeners