How to create Time. And then what to do with it.

Rich or poor, we are all time paupers.

When you feel you have none - you seek it out like gold; and when things are bad you have too much and it can feel unending.

Of course, the pandemic hasn't made time any easier to manage.

And so today we want to discuss time and how we go forward as humans – as citizens who are also stakeholders in the workplace of this new normal.

To begin this conversation, we must first consider what we spend most of our time on. Before Covid 19, the reality of the matter is that we probably spent more time commuting and in our offices with colleagues, clients and bosses than we did at home with our kids and spouses.

And one of the worst side effects of the pandemic has been how it has blurred the lines between our personal/private spaces and those for work. It gets harder to clock out of work when work is home. Another thing to consider - if the workplace is now part of our homes, does that make our partners and children part of our workplace? Does that make them a stakeholder to be managed?

These blurred boundaries affect everyone’s mental health. Indeed, what does it mean for your wellbeing if you can't differentiate between where you work and where you rest or play?

These are all matters that need careful Consideration. Consideration by those affected, not only experts and senior decision makers.

Many businesses have started to introduce initiatives to combat the mental health repercussions of the pandemic. Things like counselling and weekly check-ins are all great ways to try and help workers adjust. But, as with any new business process - we need to work out the kinks; we need to think through the detail. It is not enough to just describe the issues we are facing; it is also imperative to question how we choose to address them and involve everyone concerned in policy and practice. In this regard, it is extremely important to give employees the autonomy and the responsibility to co-create and construct solutions.

Consideration is the place to do just that. And those who do so are in fact part of a movement that recognizes workers' agency as human beings - in and out of the workplace.

With the Consideration process, you improve efficiency in the workplace. You cut out waste. Which in turn saves time; in fact, you could say that it creates time. Time that employees can then use on activities and thoughts that serve a higher purpose, need or truth.

So, re-purposing effort and utilising the extra time which enables that to happen, is a key objective. Doing so will improve self-esteem amongst the workforce and create an environment in which respect for those who do the work will increase.

Employment should be more than day-to-day work; and it can be argued that the real purpose of work is to enable the serving of higher goals. When many first enter the workforce, vigour and ambition are commonplace but, as time goes on, we tend to become somewhat dissatisfied and disengagement can become the norm (the statistics on employee engagement bear that out very clearly).

Getting caught up in the problems of working life, we can easily lose sight of what is truly important - our values and our purpose.

In summary, Consideration enables businesses to create an environment in which that sense of purpose and curiosity is in the ascendent and Time can be owned. There are many things we can do with extra time, but one thing is certain: it is the scarcest resource and unless it is managed nothing else can be managed.