EP Business in Hospitality Issue 53 - April 2015

e t eect | Management
STOP THE WORLD,
I WANT TO GET OFF!
Executives today have less time to think
and reflect. Life will only get faster, so
do working habits need to change?
It is strange to think back to the days
before the internet of real post and
secretaries greeting you on your return
from a meeting with telephone messages.
It seems quaint and almost another world.
Today, emails start arriving at 6am, texts
from about 6.30am and it all seems to go on
until about 9pm. Everyone has direct access
to almost any individual through email,
mobile, LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.
Communication is constant and time to
just stop and think is almost non-existent.
In some ways, it is impressive just how
everyone has adapted to the high speed of
modern life, but no one seems to have time
to just stop and think or reflect. There
surely needs to be a better balance?
Add in a few other facts:
The average working days has increased
by 15% in the last decade;
Executives read 30% more data each day;
The time available to make a decision has
dropped by 45%.
The findings of a survey of nearly 550
adults aged 25-plus highlights the extent to
which people are struggling to juggle work
commitments with the demands of family
and keeping up with friends. The report,
called Life in the Fast Lane, found:
61% of adults only spend between 15
and 30 minutes eating their evening meal;
Almost 80% admit to excessive alcohol
consumption;
85% of adults suffer indigestion and
62% have a reduced interest in sex;
One in five admits taking work home to
“
Life is bound to get even
faster, so the challenge is
to steal time during the
day to just reflect
”
finish over the weekend, while half of all
respondents reported feeling stressed at
the weekend at least once a month;
Almost three-quarters said they would put
the phone down rather than wait on hold,
while 84% admitted to saving a few
seconds by walking on moving escalators;
More than half of respondents admitted
to passing through traffic lights on red,
while 58% confess to using their car for
short journeys rather than walk;
Nearly six out of ten people said they felt
they were ‘missing out’ on something but
did not know what.
Those are all the negatives, but
thankfully there are great positives too:
There is a greater flow of management
information;
The world is open and transparent;
People can work almost anywhere in the
world and be accessible;
The world is closer and more accessible;
Standards are improving;
People are more open-minded.
The real challenge is to ensure we have
time to stop and think, and the answer lies
in our own approach and discipline. Life is
bound to get even faster, so the challenge
is to steal time during the day to just reflect.
It is often said that younger people
use less imagination than in the old days.
Maybe so, but in the old days we all had
more time to think and solve problems,
so maybe the answer lies in how time is
managed – to help coach people to find
solutions rather than just react.
Thinkstockphotos.com
6 | EP Magazine | April 2015