New research from The University of Texas at Austin shows that bosses can help their workers handle time disruptions better. With work becoming more global and spread across different time zones, disruptions to the usual schedule are increasing. These disruptions aren’t just a hassle—they can actually cost businesses money by causing health issues, more mistakes, and lower productivity.

The study looks at how managers can make these disruptions less of a problem by adjusting how individuals work and think about time. It’s about finding new ways to handle time challenges and making the work environment more flexible and efficient.

Different shapes and sizes

Resilience comes in different shapes when dealing with changes in time. Instead of a one-size-fits-all approach, there are three strategies: adjusting, absorbing, and adopting. Each has its pros and cons, depending on how long and how intense the disruption is:

• Adjusting: This involves outwardly changing schedules, but mentally resisting the change, hoping things will go back to normal soon.
• Absorbing: Employees handle disruptions by rearranging tasks to make room for them.
• Adopting: For longer disruptions, some people embrace the new reality and reorganize their lives accordingly.

The researchers propose several ways to enhance resilience to time disruptions in the workplace—before they even happen:

• Flexible Deadlines: Give some leeway in tight timeframes, making it easier for people to adjust to changing demands.
• Margins: Integrate flexibility into schedules so that small disruptions don’t derail the entire day. For instance, leave a buffer between meetings to account for unexpected delays.
• Bite-sized Shifts: If significant schedule changes are necessary, break them down into smaller steps. This allows employees to adapt gradually to each stage.
• Patience: Recognize that extraordinary performance may not be feasible during schedule disruptions. Be understanding and allow for short-term performance dips.

“Recognize that it’s not people being resistant to change,” they conclude. “It’s people being organisms for whom time is a fundamental element of dealing with the environment. Time has a learning curve, too.”