S C I E N C E
S C I E N C E
LOOK TO THE ANT, THOU SLUGGARD
The organisation of ants may offer the modern workplace a few lessons
Hands up, those of you who daydreamed through a meeting this week.
Few would deny that memos, meetings and over-management plague the modern workplace, often stopping us from getting things done. Frequent interruptions have fractured our ‘workday’ into a series of ‘work moments.’
The solution may lie with the ants, or more specifically, with ant behaviour. Unlike human hierarchies, ants act collectively – building colonies, foraging, waging war – without directives or leaders. (Even the ‘queen’, despite her officious name, offers no real leadership, but simply fulfills her programmed role of churning out offspring.)
Ants, it turns out, are pretty much on their own. And yet without leaders or directives, these tiny insects are able to achieve all they do through collective decision-making - based on subtle interactions with each other and with the local environment. Clearly this goes against the grain of human hierarchies found in offices and corporations.
But could these same ideas be applied to human contexts? As it is, such ‘ant algorithms’ have already been applied successfully in areas like robotics and computer science. More tellingly, a recent study from Wayne State University showed that modeling management structure on the eusocial insects (ants, bees, termites) was able to foster innovation among staff and raised overall efficiency by 17%.
Now before anyone starts chanting ‘we are the Borg, you will be assimilated!’ it should be noted that such structures are not about stifling individuality, but rather reducing micromanagement and freeing up time.
This idea already has a precedent in the workplace. Game designer ‘Valve’, for example, has received plaudits for its ‘flat’ management style where “nobody reports to anybody else” and employees “have the power to greenlight projects.”
So the next time you’re hovering over your employees or about to call that power meeting, you might want to ask yourself whether it’s really constructive. Your time might be better spent on studying how ants work.
As the old proverb goes: ‘Look to the ant, thou sluggard. Consider her ways and be wise.”
A modified version of this article was published in THE PEAK magazine.
by Mark Malby
Sunday, 21 April 2013
Green ants scurry from a nest in Australia’s Kakadu Park - photographs Mark Malby