These kinds of unplanned impacts are one reason why I think most jobs need to have a certain amount of "slack" built in so that the workers aren't only spending all their time working...
Indeed. And this is a well understood concept. To the point that Tom DeMarco wrote an entire book about the importance of "slack" - over 20 years ago.[1]
From the description:
<DeMarco> reveals a counterintuitive principle that explains why efficiency efforts can slow a company down. That principle is the value of slack, the degree of freedom in a company that allows it to change. Implementing slack could be as simple as adding an assistant to a department and letting high-priced talent spend less time at the photocopier and more time making key decisions, or it could mean designing workloads that allow people room to think, innovate, and reinvent themselves.
Indeed. And this is a well understood concept. To the point that Tom DeMarco wrote an entire book about the importance of "slack" - over 20 years ago.[1]
From the description:
<DeMarco> reveals a counterintuitive principle that explains why efficiency efforts can slow a company down. That principle is the value of slack, the degree of freedom in a company that allows it to change. Implementing slack could be as simple as adding an assistant to a department and letting high-priced talent spend less time at the photocopier and more time making key decisions, or it could mean designing workloads that allow people room to think, innovate, and reinvent themselves.
[1]: https://www.amazon.com/Slack-Getting-Burnout-Busywork-Effici...