How the Fifties-Era Factory Still Haunts Productivity

The Productivity Podcast with Fexingo: Output, Efficiency, and Long-Term Economic Growth · May 25, 2026 · 6m · transcript

Lucas and Luna explore the surprising persistence of mid-century manufacturing logic in today's knowledge economy. Drawing on a 1956 General Electric time-and-motion study that set 'standard output' at 92 widgets per hour, they trace how that benchmark mentality still shapes everything from developer sprint points to call-center handle times — and why it systematically undervalues complex cognitive work. The episode digs into a 2023 study from the National Bureau of Economic Research that found knowledge workers spend 38% of their day on tasks that could be automated or…