{
  "title": "Prioritisation: knowing when work no longer deserves more time",
  "url": "https://www.shr.swiss/blog/prioriser-savoir-arreter-ce-qui-ne-merite-plus-du-temps-en",
  "language": "en",
  "datePublished": "2026-07-19",
  "publisher": {
    "name": "SHR — Swiss Human Resources",
    "url": "https://www.shr.swiss",
    "address": "Esplanade de Pont-Rouge 9A, 1212 Lancy, Suisse"
  },
  "summary": "Setting priorities is not enough if past commitments continue to absorb resources. Research on sunk costs illuminates this difficulty without providing an automatic rule for stopping.",
  "section": "Research",
  "topic": "Time Management & Prioritisation",
  "place": {
    "name": "Zurich",
    "region": "Zurich",
    "country": "CH"
  },
  "keyPoints": [
    {
      "heading": "What the literature establishes",
      "point": "Hal R."
    },
    {
      "heading": "When responsibility encourages persistence",
      "point": "Barry M."
    },
    {
      "heading": "The hasty conclusion",
      "point": "One might conclude that every disappointing project should be stopped, or that decisions should always be assigned to an outsider."
    },
    {
      "heading": "What these findings cannot decide",
      "point": "The research settings do not reproduce the full complexity of a project portfolio, particularly its dependencies and regulatory constraints."
    },
    {
      "heading": "A practical check in Zurich",
      "point": "As part of SHR's “[Time Management & Prioritisation](/formation/gestion-du-temps/zurich)” programme, a Zurich team in financial services, insurance, tech or a European headquarters can trial a commitment review over two weeks."
    }
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "authors": "Blumer",
      "year": "1985",
      "source": "Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes"
    },
    {
      "authors": "Staw",
      "year": "1976",
      "source": "Organizational Behavior and Human Performance"
    }
  ],
  "wordCount": 438,
  "image": "https://www.shr.swiss/img/blog-editorial-2026-07-19-en.jpg?v=4",
  "translations": {
    "fr": "https://www.shr.swiss/blog/prioriser-savoir-arreter-ce-qui-ne-merite-plus-du-temps",
    "en": "https://www.shr.swiss/blog/prioriser-savoir-arreter-ce-qui-ne-merite-plus-du-temps-en",
    "de": "https://www.shr.swiss/blog/prioriser-savoir-arreter-ce-qui-ne-merite-plus-du-temps-de",
    "it": "https://www.shr.swiss/blog/prioriser-savoir-arreter-ce-qui-ne-merite-plus-du-temps-it"
  },
  "relatedPages": {
    "programme": "https://www.shr.swiss/formation/gestion-du-temps/zurich",
    "city": "https://www.shr.swiss/formations-ville/zurich",
    "blog": "https://www.shr.swiss/blog"
  },
  "citationPolicy": "Citation autorisée avec mention « SHR — Swiss Human Resources » et lien vers l'article."
}