This is not the same as not working very hard. In fact, they’re very different.
We’ve been indoctrinated to avoid trying hard (too risky and emotionally fraught) and to resign ourselves to working hard (held up as a virtue).
People who work in productivity-focused jobs where they follow the manual work very hard. If you buy a Subway franchise, you’re buying years of hard work–the more hours you put in, the better your profits. If you work on an assembly line–making chocolate or writing code–the boss pushes you to work harder and harder.
On the other hand, there are projects where the outcomes are less certain and where the manual isn’t as complete. In these sorts of projects, we need to use our judgment and insight. We do things that might not work. There are few prizes for longer work, but plenty of upside for better work.
We’re surrounded by businesses staffed by hard-working people who have been trained to not try very hard. So they stick with the policy and avoid innovation, customer delight and connection.
Ironically, when it’s our turn to be the customer, we often seek out precisely the opposite. Humans are drawn to folks who care enough to try a bit harder.