The Difference Between Efficiency & Productivity

What’s the difference between efficiency and productivity?

– Lorena O’English (@loenglish) via Twitter

Marina’s answer:

While some people use the two words interchangeably, they do mean two different (though related) things.

Productivity refers to the quantity of accomplishment within a given timeframe.

Let’s take Roseanne, a widget-cranker. Roseanne cranks out 8,000 units during her eight-hour workday. 8,000 units in eight hours (or 1,000 units per hour) is Roseanne’s productivity level.

Efficiency, on the other hand, refers to how many resources — time, money, energy — are exerted for one unit of productivity.

Jackie is another widget cranker. She can crank out 10,000 units in eight hours, which means it takes her less time than Roseanne to crank one widget. Jackie is therefore more efficient than Roseanne.

On a more macro level, one widget plant would be more efficient than another if they could crank out the same number of widgets at a lower cost than their competitor.

While increasing efficiency provides many benefits, maximizing efficiency should not be the sole goal of any life or business. Efficiency must be balanced with other goals, including respecting human rights (slave labor is, in theory, more efficient than paid labor, but immoral and therefore not an end anyone should seek!)