King's College London

Professor Katie Bailey has contributed to CIPD Online, writing about the effects waiting may have on the efficiency and effectiveness of our organisations. Does waiting slow down productivity or is it an opportunity for ‘down time’?

Katie Bailey writes about the reality of the working day: "A good proportion of time is spent waiting for someone or something". Although we constantly hear that time is speeding up due to ever-faster electronic communication, Bailey highlights that organisational workers are still interdependent and that “a delay further down the line means someone, somewhere is waiting”.

Waiting is therefore, although infrequently acknowledged, a “hidden feature of organisational life". Bailey asks if waiting is always a negative experience: “Waiting might, in some circumstances, be a pleasurable interlude, providing an unexpected opportunity to reflect, to connect with others, or to catch up with other tasks” in what could otherwise be a stessfull, nonstop day. 

Read the full article on CIPD Online.