Polychronicity at work: when personal time values clash with organisational expectations

Abstract

The design and structure of many of our traditional organisations and the jobs therein reflect a relatively stable, Newtonian approach to perceiving and understanding our organisational environment. However, the high velocity change which has become a characteristic of contemporary society indicates that the unidimensional, linear and chronological approach to understanding our environment and particularly our work environment is no longer sufficient. The emergent concept of polychronic working values, indicates that individuals may perceive and use time very differently in their work activities. The present study measures the polychronic work values of 117 working managers from a variety of 'rapid change' Irish organisations. The results compare each manager's personal polychronic orientation with their perception of the pervading temporal attributes of their organisations. The congruity and incongruity of manager and organisational polychronicity values are analysed and treated with reference to the managers' scores on an Affective Organisational Commitment index. The significant findings have potential implications for the planning and design of managerial positions and more particularly for the selection and development and retention of effective managers in rapidly evolving organisations