What is the nature of time for the modern person? How do we schedule tasks to be done? When do we need to resolve issues? Instantly, in real time, is the usual view. Real time is the new time. Businesses worldwide require decisions to be made instantly. We have developed at such a speed that sending an email has become a slow and drawn out process and our demands of an instant communication tool increase daily. We need our communication channels to no longer be intermittent or static. The business world requires fluid, free-flowing, communication conducted in real time.
Time is no longer measured in days or hours but in minutes and seconds. But why is the concept of time changing as we increase the importance we put on time? What has caused our expectations to alter?
Possibility 1: Increasing demand from hierarchy to achieve more in less time
The financial crisis in the early 2000’s realized tremendous amounts of jobs being lost. Businesses were struggling to ensure bankruptcy was kept at bay. With this came a certain pressure to keep costs at a minimum and increase profitability. These demands had several effects:
- Employees worked longer hours
- Employees were required to reach tougher targets
- Employees lost the time required to complete certain tasks
While necessary, this caused untold stress to workers. The economy is now in an increasingly stable condition. However, organizations have maintained the stringent approach to running a business. Employees continue to experience increased pressure to increase their standards and deliver results in half the time. Tasks can no longer wait for an email.
Communications need to be instant and in real time. We require instant communication with one another removing the risk of emails to our colleagues being lost within a pile of other emails. Talking instantly in real time is the only route to get answers to our questions within our target timelines. Real time becomes the new time.
Possibility 2: The drive for a work life balance
In recent years employees have placed further stress on a work-life balance within their career. Monetary value is no longer the core reason to be choosing our role. We no longer want to be taking our work from the office and into our personal home. We want to be able to complete our tasks on time and in the office.
Real time provides us with instant answers and complete solutions to our problems. A real time conversation ends when the conversation closes with no open ended issues. The emphasis of resolving issues immediately allows us to achieve our goals then and there. However, real time communication has the potential of making you more accessible when not in the office (at your discretion).
Given the correct tools to meet your targets while in the office provides you with the work life balance you have been aiming towards. Real time becomes the new time ensuring you can enjoy living outside of the office while reducing the stress of attending emails and waiting within the office for the required information.
Possibility 3: Self fulfillment
Then there is the need for real time communication to drive personal satisfaction. The thought of knowing you have done a good job fills us with joy and self fulfillment. Time taken to send and receive emails delays the process of completing tasks, thus reducing our self fulfillment.
Knowing you can meet your goals and ambitions without relying on the timescale of another colleague places the control within your hands. Self fulfillment can be as real time as your communications method allows.
Employees want job satisfaction and self fulfillment at the end of the working day. The demand for real time is the demand for job satisfaction. Having the correct tools at our disposal meets our ever increasing needs for immediacy. Instant employee self fulfillment will become the norm before too long as timekeeping becomes real time.
In truth, people have various reasons for wanting results now and not in the future, for answers to be provided now and not in a future email. We all want to be top priority when asking a question or looking to our colleagues for assistance. How can we demand this? Using real time communication to replace delayed responses with instant responses improves our satisfaction and productivity. We demand instant information, not easily outdated information. Our new communications will be real time and we will work in real time rather than relying on delayed responses through old and now outdated methods of communication.
