Even experts systematically underestimate how much time you need for a task. Therefore, many are under stress shortly before delivery. The solution would be simple: move the deadline. But many hesitate because they fear that this would leave a bad impression among superiors or business partners - unclean how experiments from the Harvard Business School suggest with more than 4,000 test subjects.
The team around Ashley Whillans asked the test subjects to describe as many pictures as possible for two minutes. While the countdown was running on the screen, they could click a button with the inscription "I need more time" at any time and thus extend the deadline by one minute. However, another test subject will be informed of this, who should later evaluate her performance as a supervisor. With this knowledge, they extended their deadline less often than those who believed that their supervisor would not experience anything about it.
However, the hesitation overestimated the influence that the shifted deadline had on the assessment of their performance. Because the test subjects in the supervisor role actually concluded a lower competence, but not as much as feared. The researchers write more advantages to ask in time for postponement in the specialist journal "Journal of Experimental Social Psychology". It could prevent stress and anger that threatens in the event of a missed period. It shows the ability to organize your own work independently and to question yourself critically. And last but not least, the results were actually better.
Give explicit priority to quality
How to reduce the fear of a negative assessment, then tested Whillans and your team in a field experiment. As part of courses, students were able to ask their lecturers to postpone the submission date for their work if necessary. But while some believed that the lecturer would only offer them out of goodwill, the others were informed in writing that this possibility was officially planned. In the second case, almost twice as many (42 versus 22.5 percent) dared to ask. The formal regulation was apparently able to reduce any concerns. "These students worried less to make a good impression with their lecturer," reports the research group.
Deadlines are good for boosting productivity and coordination, Whillans and her colleagues conclude. However, they recommend that superiors allow postponements – and set priorities. Because if there are no clear guidelines, employees tend to want to impress with speed rather than quality. Only if quality has explicit priority, it is also prioritized.
