Driven to Distraction at Work, and the Making of Behavioral Economics, Misbehaving

• Author: David M. Cannon,Stephen R. Goldberg
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/jcaf.22106
• Published date: 01 November 2015
• Date: 01 November 2015

89

© 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com).

DOI 10.1002/jcaf.22106

Driven to Distraction at Work, and

the Making of Behavioral Economics,

Misbehaving

David M. Cannon and Stephen R. Goldberg

BOOKS REVIEWED

Hallowell, Edward M., 2015.

Driven to Distraction at Work:

How to Focus and Be More Pro-

ductive (Boston, MA: Harvard

Business Review Press)

Thaler, Richard H., 2015, Misbe-

having: The Making of Behavio-

ral Economics (New York, NY:

W. W. Norton & Company)

In the first book we review,

Hallowell describes a condi-

tion he refers to as attention

deficit trait caused by today’s

demanding environment and

then suggests ways to treat this

disorder. In our second book,

Thaler takes us through the his-

tory of and explains a relatively

new but flourishing field called

behavioral economics. The clas-

sical model of viewing people

as rational economic optimiz-

ers is modified to a more realis-

tic view of human behavior.

DRIVEN TO DISTRACTION

ATWORK

Modern life, with its 24/7

connectivity through texts and

e‐mail, excessive work due to

downsizing and budget pres-

sures, and a dizzying array

and plentitude of decisions

to be made, creates unprec-

edented demands on a per-

son’s energy and focus. Many

respond to these demands

with either paralysis or a fre-

netic herculean effort where,

in either case, things never

seem to get done. In his new

book, Driven to Distraction

at Work, psychiatrist Edward

Hallowell contends that the

work environment and mod-

ern life in general have given

rise to a condition that he

calls attention deficit trait or

ADT. ADT’s symptoms are

similar to attention deficit

disorder (ADD) and attention

deficit hyperactivity disorder

(ADHD), but differ in that

ADT is caused by the environ-

ment, while ADD and ADHD

are of genetic origin. Unlike

ADD and ADHD, symptoms

can come and go with ADT.

For example, ADT symptoms

may not be present while on

vacation or over a weekend

when the individual is removed

from the work environment.

Driven to Distraction is

organized into an introduction

and two parts of six chapters

each. In the introduction, the

author introduces ADT and

the criteria that define the

malady. He also introduces five

elements that can be used to

analyze, understand, and use

as a basis for a strategy to miti-

gate ADT. Energy, specifically

the supply of brain energy,

emotion, engagement, struc-

ture, and control differs across

categories of ADT and can be

used to create a strategy to deal

with ADT.