Is "Multitasking" Just An Illusion?

Multitasking is a term that is often used to describe how managers or busy employees are able to accomplish an insurmountable amount of work in a limited period of time.  The term was made popular in the late 1990s with the advent of the 24-hours-per-day, seven-days-per-week customer service culture in the U.S.

Multitasking refers to the ability of an individual or machine to perform more than one task, or multiple tasks, at the same time efficiently and effectively. 

 

The term has grown to define people in their roles as employees, parents, family members, and any number of other roles they perform simultaneously as they try to balance business and pleasure in a limited amount of time.

In the new business world of multitasking, professionals often find relationships blurring as to the difference between activities inside and outside of their workplace.  Multitasking has become  the norm as the amount of information a employee needs to process increases at a staggering rate.

Technology is also creating the ability to leverage the efforts of employees more and more. People are forced to become both specialists and generalists. The downside of multitasking is the level of stress and pressure on individuals, which causes incompetence and ineffective production on and off the job.

 

There is a drive for efficiency forced on businesses from a lot of competition. As companies are forced to downsize and reduce staff, the employees left behind are doing more work and are stressed out. 

 It is believed that the level of multitasking prevalent in the workplace is also showing up in our personal lives. For example people are demanding multitasking gasoline pumps. In addition to dispensing gasoline, new gas pumps are also giving travel directions, current weather reports, and stock quotes via an Internet link. Other examples of multitasking include traditional grocery stores offering a variety of products and services, including banking, catering, and wine; women juggling careers and family; and also people talking/texting on cell phones while driving causing deadly accidents.

Because we needed another word for unable to focus on the task at hand!

Given the technology and competition in our intense business environment the trend toward multitasking is expected to continue for both individuals and machines.  Businesses are turning employees into hybrids of hedgehogs and foxes.  Foxes do many things, while hedgehogs can do only one thing, but they do it very well. 

Computers crash and machines break down! 

Can humans handle it or is "Multitasking" just an Illusion?

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