Ratcheting as a Management Technique - 26 March 2024

I have experienced ratcheting, a subtle management technique that is easy to apply and hard to detect.  I do not recommend it - in fact, I abhor it - but there are some defenses.

Ratcheting is a simple method of management in which a manager continually asks for more and more work in less and less work time, often sliding into uncompensated overtime.  The most obvous technique is to simply assign more work or more complex work while holding a deadline steady.  I will not be able to cover all techniques with examples, but some examples will help explain the practice of ratcheting.

"Hey, about that report on router efficiency - can you include some analysis of the file servers, too?"  

"I was thinking about that analysis of router efficiency.  Can you also apply some regression analysis and give us some idea of the problems caused by each primary traffic type?"

Alternatively, the manager can pull in the expected delivery date.

"The meeting to present the report on router usage got pulled up to Thursday, so be sure you are ready for that."

"I have a preparatory meeting with the VP, so I need your preliminary numbers by noon, tomorrow.  Keep working on the final numbers, but be sure there are no surprises in the interim."

The obvious defense is to agree and then ask what other work can be dropped or delayed to compensate.  The ratcheting response is to minimize the work or the disruption.

"It is just an Excel sheet, so you should be able to pull in that deadline."

"The changes are pretty simple and the text editor / word processor program should handle most of the work."

The offered techniques for work simplification usually do not affect the workload.  The "automated work" is often just a fraction of the total workload.  In my work, the bulk of my energy was usually spent in collecting and cleaning the input data while the analysis was pretty mechanical;  filling in the gaps required thought and not just typing.

Finally, the ratcheting causes some sort of breakdown.  The employee explodes or rejects the new work and the manager backs down.  A little.  This is when the ratcheting technique makes clear its value.  Now that the employee is used to the higher level of work, the manager pauses a little bit, and then resumes the ratcheting when the employee has calmed down.  The employee gets a day or two of relief and then the ratcheting starts all over again.

Complementing the ratcheting technique is the continuous offer of benefits or a threat of consequences.  The manager promises the extra effort will "help your career" in some non-specific way that never quite materializes, or lack of the extra effort will put the employee behind the curve of the rest of the team and their bonus or promotion prospects will suffer.  This latter has then benefit that the employee feels they are disappointing the rest of the team and so the extra work is required as a matter of group loyalty.  None of this is true and none of it ever happens, but the employee is now acclimated to the new work level.

If you feel stressed at work, take a moment to look for evidence of ratcheting.