The pressure of time
Amanda says - As our working environment has become increasingly connected online, there is an ever increasing need to think and respond immediately. I’m sure I’m not alone in feeling this pressure. From the second the email is ready (or perhaps from the moment someone has sent the email) it’s like an invisible timer starts in my head. The pressure is on to read, think and respond.
What else is going on in that moment?
+ Teams messages.
+ Preparing for an upcoming meeting.
+ Noticing several other emails that have landed in the last few minutes.
The list goes on.
Workplaces have always been places to work, so unsurprisingly productivity is not a new concept. But in the past there seemed to be more space to think and respond without this very apparent timer ticking away in the background.
The benefit of having a bit more time meant there was room to compose thoughts with a clearer head rather than juggling 10 tasks at once. The juggling still existed, of course, but there was at least enough opportunity to see what balls you had up in the air. I’m not suggesting this didn’t occasionally result in a ‘chase up’ call or email, but the pressure to respond in that exact moment didn’t feel quite so intense.
Now, even the impromptu “Have you got 5 mins?” Teams message is enough to interrupt workflow and pull attention away from the task already in front of you.
This is where many businesses are starting to notice the impact. Constant responsiveness can easily become confused with productivity, when it often creates fragmented thinking, reduced focus and a workforce that feels permanently “on”. The expectation to react instantly can make it harder to prioritise properly, complete deep work, or make thoughtful decisions.
How long is the “acceptable” response time now?
It certainly feels to me that if everything is urgent, then nothing really can be, because it becomes impossible to prioritise.
Small changes can make a significant difference. Clearer expectations around response times, protected focus time, and encouraging people to pause before replying immediately can help create healthier and more productive ways of working. Sometimes the most effective response is not the fastest one, but the one given with enough time and headspace to think clearly.
Anthony (HR perspective) - For as long as I can remember, there has been the view of leaders that employees who work longer and harder represent the higher performers in the business. This breeds a culture where presenteeism is valued higher than contribution via value added activities. This can be made worse by having the expectation of immediate response times at the expense of current tasks.
Many businesses make the right noises in terms of work/life balance however many employees still pride themselves of working evenings and weekends. Don’t get me wrong, I too have fallen into this trap in the past and still find myself trying to impress my manager and peers by “picking it up this evening”. There remain circumstances in certain roles that there will be the need to undertake work in our personal time, and this is OK. However, what is not OK is the expectation that this is the norm and that this expectation is passed on to others.
The “right to switch off” is a live debate in many countries, and in some cases is enshrined in law. This is not a debate that companies can ignore – the documented benefits of down time demonstrate that companies thrive when employees have had the opportunity to be rested and recharge their batteries.
By providing employees with the ability to identify their own priority tasks and feeling empowered to use the tools at their disposal (and there a lot in this age), we can ensure that tasks are finished on time to a high standard. However, this cultural change must come at the leadership level – this is where we can help with our management coaching and training.