The meanings of velocity and acceleration in work routine

1. The meanings of velocity and acceleration in work routine Maria José Tonelli - EAESP-FGV, Brazil HEC Montréal Jan 24, 2003

2. Objectives of this study • To understand the meanings that people attribute to the velocity and to the acceleration of the work life, from the connections that they establish with the new technologies, specially the computer, at work. • To collect the repertoires produced by people about velocity and acceleration, words that seem to describe the contempary time.

3. Theoretical and methodological approach • Constructionism (Ibanez, 1992; Gergen, 1992, Spink, 1999) • The conversation must be unterstood as practice and not only with discourse and representation • The idea that support our research is that the possibilities of the change/transformation of the world result from the meanings that people attribute to things, that is, it depends onto their repertoires.

4. In search of meanings... • 18 interviews with people intentionaly chosen • Associative interviews, that were divided into two blocks: • the machines used in the daily life • the association with the word velocity and acceleration at work • The interviews were analyzed with the “maps”.(Spink, M J; 1999) • the machines that impose the rhythm • velocity definitions

5. About time... • Our experience about time, it is always in the present (Whitrow ,1993) • Time is the most enigmatic experience of the human being (Giddens, 1986) • The day and the night were the references to organize time between differents cultures • The language has a special hole in the construction of the notion of time • The account of time leads to social constructions • Communities always live in their own time frame

6. The construction of time • The dissemination of clocks from 1300 had the consequence the unification of the hour of 60 minutes. • Since 1335, the time of textiles workers is controlled. • Since XVII century, the clocks start to register all the hours of the day, not only the prayer. • Since XVIII, time is more and more regulated by mechanical clocks. • Since XIX, the time of work and all life is regulated by the clock.

7. Actually... • The time of work seems to be more flexible, but also more and more fast... • How do people perceive this new time frame?

8. Velocity was associated with: • Confusion, efficiency , computer, technology, “overwork”, flexibility, correria; flexible processes, opportunities, fax, e-mail, internet, strong/hard competitiveness, stress, little time with the family; multiplication of functions, multitasks, anxiety, lentidão, work in many things at the same time, “you can’t stop”

9. Velocity is ambiguous: • Facilitating • implementation of machines, efficiency, process flexibility, processes of many informations, quicky answers, mobility, new business • Imprisoning • people are limited to deal with the enormous quantitaty of informations, people become lost, there are difficulties to select information, it’s a big effort to be up to date, • Limitation of people para acompanhar tal quantities of information, feeling of information overload, difficulty in selecting relevant information, grande esforço para não ficar para trás. • Lerdeza, slowness, because the computer takes more time in details, multitasks, dowsinsing and more work at home- porque o computador leva a mais detalhes e portanto mais tempo, multitarefas, enxugamento de pessoal

10. Meanings… • Velocity has different senses to different people depending of the hierarchical positions at work / A velocidade assume differentes sentidos para diferentes posições das pessoas no trabalho: • Velocity influences personal life, specially women / A velocidade no trabalho interfere profundamente na vida pessoal, especialmente no caso das mulheres. • Velocity turns the internal time and make people more impatient in personal relationship /A velocidade leva a mudança no tempo interno e à impaciência nas relações pessoais

11. Velocity • We can ask about what could happen when we incorporate the computer time as we had done with the clock time...../ Nós podemos nos perguntar sobre o que poderá acontecer quando o tempo do computador for incorporado como o tempo do relógio.

12. Other meanings… • We can ask also about what are the meanings of the: • Quality of work life and new forms of work organization

13. …in Brazil • People that can maintain their job, work harder than before… • This lead to more and more stress and lack of time for family and friends.