Time Orientations and Stress

We don’t often consider that people that we work with live in different relationships to time. These orientations to time structure how they react to information and their sense of urgency. A look at time orientations makes it obvious how these differences can cause stress in working relationships.

• On the warehouse floor, the shipping crew is oriented toward today’s shipping tickets and the 2:00p.m. deadline when the truck comes to pick up the packages.
• In customer service, the person on the phone is oriented to that moment and that problem, order, or shipment being discussed.
• In accounts receivable, the staff is focused on the time of the month in which books will need to be closed.
• In marketing, the current focus is the upcoming major trade show in two months. It happens only once a year, but draws 15,000 customers.
• In the field, a sales rep inputs order during the key selling week of two one-months selling seasons each year.
• In R&D, employees let go of a product they’ve been working on for five years.
• The directors are meeting to finalize the strategiy and budgets for the three year plan.
• The investors have just asked for an update on the yearly financials.
• There’s a meeting next week with the bank auditors to review the covenants of the loans.

Each task is important to the business operation. Each takes a different amount of lead time, information input, support from others, and development time. Only the people doing the work understand what the work entails. Yet all of the people interact with each other while all of the tasks are happening.

Stress is inevitable if we don’t see that we all work on different time lines. The formula for Stress Relief bears repeating.

How to Find Stress Relief

The best way to alleviate that stress is to breathe. Go outside of the office to get perspective — look at the sky and trees. It’s hard to feel stressed and sorry for ourselves — like we’re the center of the universe — when we see things that weren’t made by people. Breathe again. Then go back in and communicate with grace and humanity.

Behind every Successful business is an Outstanding Manager. –Perfect Virtual Manager

Liz Strauss