Smart Work vs Hard Work- 5 Key Differences Between Smart Work & Hard Work

Hard work can be simply defined as putting in strenuous hours for doing something or any tasks, which essentially focuses on quantity than quality. 

Whereas, smart work refers to find effective and efficient ways to complete tasks while managing the time and focusing on both quality and quantity of work. 

Difference Between Hard Work & Smart Work

While working hard puts essential emphasis on putting in hours, smart work aims to find better and more efficient ways to tackle different tasks. The below-given table is about the key differences between hard work vs smart work:

Key Points	Hard Work	Smart Work
Description	Spending a lot of time doing a lot of things.	Spending less amount of time doing the right things.
Orientation	Quantity oriented	Quality and goal-oriented
Manner of work	Tedious work in the traditional way.	Work in a creative way to get more results.
Implementing ideas	Using the same old ideas in the same old manner.	Using old ideas in newer ways to get more benefit or generating better new ideas.
Objectives	Work hard and give the result with minimal errors.	Specific, measurable, attainable, results-oriented, and time-bound

Examples of Smart Work vs Hard Work

Through this example, you can understand the actual difference between hard work and smart work.

The case of the empty soapbox:

It happened in one of Japan's biggest cosmetics companies. As the company received a complaint that a consumer had bought an empty soapbox, the authorities immediately started to figure out the problem in the assembly line. They transported all the packaged boxes to the delivery department. As a result, they have found a few boxes coming out from the assembly line empty.

The engineer worked hard to implement a high-resolution x-ray machine to figure out the empty boxes and ensure no customer receives the empty boxes. There is no doubt they worked hard, but they spent an excessive amount to do so.

But, when another small company faced the same issue, they did not get into the complication of x-ray. Instead, they came out with another solution that gave them the same result as the previous company. They pointed a strong fan at the assembly line, and it simply blew away the empty box from the assembly line.

You can understand that both the companies got the same result, but one company spent a lot of money to solve the problem whereas the other company got the same result with little effort and investment.

Are Smart Work and Short Cut Similar?

The honest answer is no, they are not. Sure, shortcuts can make work easier, but smart work is not similar to the modern-day finding of unethical shortcuts. Smart workers induce easier and alternatives ways to do things, but that does not necessarily make one lazy or not reliable. On the contrary, they prove one is smart enough to find their way through the alternatives and work the better way out. They usually tend to find smoother, less time-consuming ways and yet do the trick just the right direction. Or in other words, it can be said that smart work requires specific knowledge and practice to execute any work smartly with minimal error.

They find more natural refined alternatives, making the job more convenient and simplified to cope with and work on.

 

How to Answer the HR Interview Question? Hard Work vs Smart Work

Here are some possible answers for the interview questions "What is the difference between smart work and hard work?", "What do you think is more important; hard work or smart work" "Would you consider yourself a hard worker or a smart worker?". Above are the most common question for smart work vs hard work.

Possible Answer 1

The difference between smart work and hard work is based on how you approach the task. Hard work means spending long hours to complete the task without any shortcuts. It gives us the desired results, but the process is long and stressful. In contrast, smart work will give the same result by planning and prioritization tasks. Given below is the helpful answer by a college student.

In college, I used to study hard for the exam and obtained above-average scores. But after the first semester, I found that the trend of examination questions was repetitive. So since then, I used to prepare smartly only for the previous year’s question papers and scored better marks; simultaneously, I have worked hard throughout the year to improve my subject knowledge.

Possible Answer 2

I think that the combination of both smart work and hard work together does wonders. Considering any smart people who have invented a shortcut for any activity has involved a long period of hard work. You should never hesitate to work hard, but if there is any possibility that will effectively give the same result, you prefer doing it. Planning and prioritizing is required before starting with the task.

Possible Answer 3

Whenever I'm assigned a task, I spent time researching the same. Then I will try to break the task into two categories: actionable steps to be taken and goals to be achieved. Later I will think about the alternatives of actionable steps which can yield the same results. It gives me a feeling of being focused and engaged. As a result, I save time and effort as well as provide better output.

Possible answer 4

Students should work hard or smart, depending on the situation. It is proven that hard work and smart work are the two faces of the same coin. It depends on the duration of the time or level of difficulty of the assigned task. You have to learn to adapt according to the situations. Given below is the helpful answer by a college student.

I'm a smart worker if the deadline is one or two days away. I focus on the various aspects that clients need and deliver the project within time constraints. On the other hand, if I get one month, I will give attention to the details. Hence my opinion is that one should be capable of switching between smart work and hard work quickly. 

By this, we hope you have gotten a brief understanding of hard work vs smart work and what each of them means, i.e., hard work and smart work, respectively.