Hidden Cost of efficiency

When optimization ignores human time

There was a time when work had boundaries.

You started in the morning. You finished in the evening. And somewhere in between, life existed.

That model is quietly disappearing.

A few years ago, The New York Times ran a piece on Starbucks workers and their unpredictable schedules. Algorithms were deciding shifts. Hours were optimized based on demand. Efficiency improved. Costs were controlled.

But the workers? They lost stability. They lost predictability. They lost control over their own time.

At first glance, this feels like a retail problem.

It’s not.

The same story—just a different office

In global organizations today, especially in finance, tax, and ERP transformation programs, we are seeing a more sophisticated version of the same system.

The model looks clean on paper:

• Centralize work in lower-cost locations
• Build global delivery hubs
• Support multiple jurisdictions from one place
• Run operations 24/7

It works brilliantly—on Excel.

But then you look at the human layer.

A professional sitting in India is expected to support Europe, North America, and sometimes Asia—all in a single day.

What does that actually mean?

• Early morning calls to align with Asia
• Full-day execution for local/global tasks
• Late evening or night calls for Europe and North America

And slowly, the workday stretches.

8 hours becomes 10. 10 becomes 12. 12 becomes “this is just how it works.”

When work eats into life

Now look at the overlap with real life.

Children come home from school. Families sit down for dinner. Evenings are supposed to be human time.

But for many global professionals, this is when the second shift begins.

Calls. Deadlines. Escalations. Stakeholder alignment.

And the trade-off becomes invisible—but very real:

You are physically present at home, but functionally absent.

This is not about one late night. This is about a system that structurally consumes personal time.

Efficiency didn’t disappear—it just moved

What’s important to understand is this:

Organizations did not eliminate inefficiency. They redistributed it.

In retail, unpredictable demand gets pushed onto workers through unstable shifts.

In global knowledge work, time-zone complexity gets pushed onto workers through extended working hours.

In both cases:

• The system becomes more efficient
• The business becomes more responsive
• The cost is absorbed by the individual

Efficiency is achieved by transferring volatility from the organization to the worker.

Technology is accelerating this pattern

With AI, workflow tools, and global collaboration platforms, this model is only getting stronger.

Work can now move instantly across borders. Teams can collaborate in real time. Coverage can be extended without adding headcount.

But here’s the question we are not asking enough:

Just because work can be done at any time, does it mean it should be?

If not designed carefully, AI and automation won’t reduce workload. They will expand the expectation of availability.

Always on. Always reachable. Always responsive.

The illusion of flexibility

Many organizations describe this model as “flexible.”

But flexibility for whom?

• The organization gets flexibility in coverage
• The system gets flexibility in resource allocation
• The employee gets… fragmented time

True flexibility gives control.

This version of flexibility removes it.

What needs to change

This is not about rejecting global models or technology.

It’s about redesigning them with intent.

A few shifts are necessary:

1. Time-zone accountability Global coverage should not mean one person absorbs all time zones.

2. Protected personal hours Not as a guideline—but as a system-level design.

3. Outcome-based work, not presence-based expectations Reduce the need for constant overlap.

4. Smarter use of AI AI should reduce coordination load—not extend working hours.

Final thought

We are entering a world where work is becoming more intelligent, more connected, and more efficient.

But there is a risk.

If we are not careful, we will build systems that are perfectly optimized— and completely misaligned with how humans actually live.

The real question is not:

“How do we make work more efficient?”

The real question is:

“Who is paying for that efficiency?”

Because right now, in many parts of the world— the answer is clear..I will leave it for your imagination