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A study found that when employees feel that time is passing quickly, they consider themselves to be more productive and perceive the project to be more pleasant, which results in improved job performance and accuracy.
Do you ever have the feeling that time is passing exceptionally slowly while you are working, especially on an unpleasant task? And did you know that how you perceive time to pass could impact you and your team's job performance?
Latest research from the Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) School of Business showed that the way work is designed and structured can affect how employees experience the passage of time, which, in turn, impacts their performance.
Dr. Rocky Peng Chen of HKBU School of Business, along with researchers Helen H. Zhao (University of Hong Kong), Hong Deng (Durham University), Sharon K. Parker (Curtin University), and Wei Zhang (University of Hong Kong), conducted a series of experiments and field studies to test their hypothesis and support a new approach to work design. The team conducted five studies in total which included two experiments, a naturalistic field study, an organisational field study and an online survey, and interpreted them collectively in order to draw their conclusions and demonstrate that their model applies not only to straightforward, mechanical jobs but also to jobs with more autonomy and variety.
This study, published in the Academy of Management Journal, proposed two new workplace design characteristics that can affect employee’s perception of time, which are:
Temporal predictability
Temporal predictability is defined as the degree to which the uncertainty of unplanned time preceding a project or a work task can be reduced. Simply put, having a clear timeline and knowing when the next task will start.
Task segmentation
Task segmentation is defined as the concept of dividing large chunks of time into smaller sprints to better tackle big projects and deadlines. These shorter intervals are best utilised for activities that are different from the focal task.
The study also found that when employees feel that time is passing quickly, they consider themselves to be more productive and perceive the project to be more pleasant. Specifically, increased temporal predictability and task segmentation can:
- Positively affect the experienced passage of time, as employees perceive time as passing significantly faster.
- Result in improved employee job performance and accuracy by keeping them laser-focused on tasks.
“Work design is an important research stream in the field of management and most existing theories focus on how the nature and the organisation of workers’ tasks, activities, and responsibilities can create positive work experiences,” said Dr. Chen. “A crucial component of work design is the experienced passage of time, or how employees rate the speed at which the time passes while working.”
For employers looking to improve their employees' job satisfaction, engagement, and performance, the study has outlined three main points to take note of:
Employers need to design work time in a way that helps employees stay focused
Because temporal predictability and task segmentation can be flexibly designed, they offer strong action implications for managers. Specifically, managers can eliminate unnecessary wait times or at least reduce the uncertainty of wait times between tasks and events. As an example, employees can be given other “tasks” to complete while waiting, to increase temporal predictability. Furthermore, meetings can also become more efficient if employees are informed about the exact timings beforehand – this makes them less focused on the time and more engaged with the discussions and outcomes of the meeting.
Managers should punctuate the workday with time markers to segment tasks
Using visible temporal markers that divide a large chunk of work time into several smaller blocks for task segmentation purposes can help employees restore their focus and alertness. Between intervals, employees should be encouraged to engage in activities that are different from their focal task. But employers need to be careful when designing task segmentation and ensure they customise it for different jobs and even people. This is because too much segmentation might be detrimental for some jobs, especially for those employees who are performing complex tasks that required undisturbed deep mental focus.
The purpose behind work design is to empower employees rather than force them into a rigid structure
Although employees are willing to work hard, it is inevitable and involuntary that they will lose focus at some point. The right work design enables managers to have a significant influence in assisting their staff in maintaining focus, because employees find it pleasant to feel that time is passing quickly. The design of work time cannot change the characteristics of some core jobs (e.g., simple, repetitive, and strenuous tasks), but it might be better able to protect employees from the damaging influence of unpleasant job characteristics by giving them the feeling that time is passing quickly.
Lead image / Shutterstock
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