A mega trend in working life: well being

What words did you use last time when you said no to a meeting request? Or, how did you respond when you could not join for a beer with friends last time? I would guess it was something like: “Sorry, I have already another meeting in my calender already.” or “I have to prepare the material for that presentation.” Very likely the reason was something to do with you time management and commitments that you have already made. Your time is scarce.

Time has multiple meanings to different people and cultures. Some of us are present oriented, some of us future oriented and some past oriented. Similarly for example “5 minutes” can be way too short for someone and at the same time the same “5 minutes” can be an eternity for someone else. How you and the others perceive time has a huge impact on avoiding conflicts, learning things as well as maintaining your mental and physical health. From business perspective the performance of your business and the well being of your team depends heavily on understanding the meaning of time.

In the short video below professor Philip Zimbardo conveys how our individual perspectives of time affect our work, health and well-being. Time influences who we are as a person, how we view relationships and how we act in the world.

Maybe it is time to change the 20% and have that family dinner tonight? You know what I mean when you watch the video. 🙂