Harnessing time: empowering staff in the workplace

Abstract

Purpose -This paper aims to describe a staff development activity introduced at a small regional library in Victoria, Australia to assist staff to take more control of their work time. The self-directed professional activity (SDPA) allows staff to nominate an activity that would benefit them professionally and then provides the support and infrastructure so they can focus on one task for a sustained period of time, free from external distractions. Design/methodology/approach -This single case study describes the experiences of 11 library staff undertaking the SDPA four times over a two year period, 2006-2008. The perspective of participants was recorded and analysed using a focus group discussion, personal written reflections and written responses to open ended survey questions. Findings -The activity achieved its initial aim of providing staff with greater control over their professional time. Staff appreciated having a dedicated time to plan and complete a specified task, which they nominated as a priority, without external interruptions. Difficulties encountered by staff included defining a task or activity that could be completed in one afternoon and resisting the temptation to check e-mail and answer telephone calls.Research limitations/implications -The sample size is very small, focusing on one specific work environment, which makes it difficult to generalise about the applicability of this model to other organisations. Practical implications -The experiences described in this case study illustrate that allowing staff to set their own priorities and minimising external interruptions can assist staff to feel more in control of their time at work. Originality/value -The paper shows that elements of this approach could be incorporated into any workplace, although it appears to be of greater benefit to workers who must multi-task in open office environments or to those who must juggle competing priorities.

User design: A case study on corporate change

“…This gives employees the freedom to work within the system's boundaries and not have to work outside it to do their jobs, thus increasing their job satisfaction. This helps to confirm prior research that has shown that giving employees some power aids and assists in developing employee satisfaction, retention, and time savings (Sheridan 2009;Thorlakson & Murray, 1996). But empowerment of this level is rare in large organizations.…”