On a macro level, metric fixation can lead to companies focussing on the quarterly report while ignoring any real R&amp;D work, that takes years to provide any result.Companies also suffer millions of hours of productivity loss due to employees maintaining performance records, a lot of expenses spent on recording and tracking tools, and the time it takes to read or analyze the numbers.

Millions of Hours Lost

Metric Fixation, an epidemic in most of the world's biggest companies is a way to measure employee performance primarily by numbers, counted, tallied, compiled and analyzed in daily, weekly or monthly intervals.

Metric Fixation

Metric fixation can make employees ignore the real values and goals of the company and focus on their short-term weekly or monthly goals so that they keep their jobs, get a pay raise or have their stock options out at the right time.

Ignoring Real Values

The rewards of the metric performance measurement can be as a form of a monetary bonus, stocks or just an enhanced grade or designation, leading to competition among employees.&nbsp;This leads to many employees gaming the system to affect the bottom line of their metrics.Example: Surgeons can refuse to treat patients having a complicated condition, as it may affect their failure rate.

Incentivizing Leads to Gaming

More and more companies, government agencies, educational institutions and philanthropic organisations are today in the grip of a new phenomenon. I've termed it 'metric fixation'.

Ignoring Real Values

Against metrics: how measuring performance by numbers backfires - Jerry Z Muller | Aeon Ideas

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Against metrics: how measuring performance by numbers backfires | Aeon Ideas

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