Communication: Rhetoric and Reasoning

Relax! You'll Be More Productive

Published: February 9, 2013

Article Analysis

Introduction

In this age, businesses have grown at an amazing pace and catered to many different markets. In order to keep up with demand, these businesses have boosted their production capacity by hiring more employees and making them work for longer hours. There is a commonly accepted notion that increasing working hours has a positive effect on the overall productivity (Relax! You'll Be More Productive, 2013). However, over the course of time, a growing amount of evidence has been presented to contest the widely accepted notion that longer working hours and greater effort both lead to better performance. This article cites a wide range of research data to indicate that lesser work, greater amount of rest, and longer breaks and vacations actually leads to more positive outcomes in the performance of an individual.

Summary

In the article “Relax! You'll Be More Productive”, Tony Schwartz discusses the importance of rest and renewal on the productivity of employees at the workplace. According to Schwartz, employees can renew their energy by taking lots of rest and focusing less intensively on work. Using a range of critical elements and rhetorical devices, it is clear that the team is investigating the film and that work (Relax! You'll Be More Productive, 2013). In order to determine whether the article is rhetorical, it will be thoroughly assessed and scrutinized for three of the main Aristotelian elements of rhetoric - Ethos, Pathos, and Logos. These three main elements for the backbone of the rhetorical analysis process as they analyze three of the core elements of an argumentative essay that form the premise for the viewpoint.

The main thesis statement of the article is grounded in the concept that longer sleeping hours and resting time lead to better performance and greater efficiency at the workplace. Today, working employees have developed a tendency to work hard and compromise on sleep and healthy eating habits. In addition, it is common for highly career-oriented employees to even forfeit their annual leaves, vacation leaves etc (Relax! You'll Be More Productive, 2013). This presents a scenario where employees dedicate extended hours to the workplace to complete their obligations and responsibilities at work. Schwartz proposes that, paradoxically, the most perfect approach to increase productivity is to spend a greater amount of time in doing less.

These claims are supported by numerous research data that actually show significant changes in performance of employees. 'Strategic renewal' helps employees cope with stress and fatigue levels and allows them to perform efficiently and expend energy on a consistent level. The positive effect of strategic renewal measures have been tested by numerous researchers (Relax! You'll Be More Productive, 2013). For example, a recent study carried out by Harvard acknowledged that following a culture that promotes work overload and sleep deprivation costs American companies a staggering 63 billion dollars. This study was published after a similar study concluded that sleeping for less than 6 hours on a daily basis burned out the performance potential of employees ...