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How Workplace Friction Can Actually Prevent Burnout
Description
Lucas and Luna explore the counterintuitive idea that a little workplace friction—like walking to a colleague's desk instead of messaging, or handwriting notes instead of typing—can actually protect against burnout. Drawing on research from organizational psychologist Cal Newport and a 2024 study from the University of Texas on 'effortful engagement,' they explain why friction forces our brains into deeper focus, reduces context-switching fatigue, and creates natural microbreaks. Lucas shares a personal experiment: for one week, he stopped using Slack for internal questions and instead walked over to people. Result: fewer total interruptions, more done by 3 p.m., and less exhaustion. Luna pushes back on the friction tax for remote workers, and they land on a practical middle ground: design friction for your most important work, eliminate it for the rest. A fresh take on burnout prevention that doesn't involve more apps or boundaries—just better designed effort.