Problem-Solving Case: Do Supervisors Need “Freedom” toManage Their Time?
Information scientist Fred Stutzman noticed thatwhenever he went online, he was just a click or two away from atreasure trove of information, enter- tainment, and socialconnections. Just one little click, and he could find some tidbitthat would be more engaging than whatever project he had sat at thecomputer to tackle. As he told a reporter recently, being on theInternet provides a “sense that at any point in time, you can dipinto this stream.” Consequently, Stutzman, like other computerusers, finds that he doesn’t give 100 percent of his attention towhat he is supposedly doing at his computer.
So Stutzman used his computer expertise to create a new piece ofsoftware he named Freedom. Freedom basically provides a means ofescape from online distractions by making it hard for computerusers to go online when they have set aside time for other work.When a user launches Freedom, it asks how long it should disablethe computer’s Internet access—any period of time within a rangefrom one minute to eight hours. Next, it asks the user whether itshould allow access to the local network, which might includeprinters or other computers to which the user is connected locally.After the user answers the questions and provides a password,Freedom delivers freedom from dis- tractions by shutting offconnections as specified.
What if you try Freedom but then realize that your plan was amistake because you need to look up critical information online orprint a document a customer is waiting for? Freedom offers an outthat is intentionally annoying: you have to reboot the computer(shut it down and restart it). The pro- cess is not complicated butis troublesome enough that users would bother with it only if theyreally need the local-network or Internet connection. Writer andradio show host Peter Sagal appreciates using Freedom as a way tostay focused when writ- ing books and screenplays. He relearned towork without distractions by setting Freedom first for short timeperiods and then gradually increasing the duration of theuninterrupted time day by day.
Supervisors might agree with Stutzman and Sagal that concentratingat the computer has become more difficult as the Internet hasintro- duced more and more ways for users to distractthemselves—social media, news feeds, funny or heartwarming videos,e-mail from customers and co-workers, and instant messages fromcolleagues, to name just a few. But is Freedom the best solu- tionfor supervisors? Perhaps they would be better off to follow theadvice of Linda Stone, an expert in the impact of computers onthinking. Stone says running software that makes us use comput- ersappropriately is only a first step toward what is the real andmeaningful change: learning to control ourselves at ourcomputers.
Questions -
Imagine you are a sales supervisor who works primarilyin an office at headquarters, staying in touch with traveling salesrepresentatives to coach them and oversee their performance. Whymight you need Internet access? Would you need to have that accessall day long, every minute of the day? Why or why not?
Continuing with the example in question 1, how do youthink it would change your support of the sales reps if you used aprogram like Freedom to stay offline for an hour or two every day?How do you think it would change your ability to complete otherkinds of work, such as writing reports, thinking of new ways tomotivate workers, and planning for future goals and budgets?
Discuss your opinion of Linda Stone’s view thatindividuals should learn to police themselves online, rather thanrelying on software to help them manage their computer use. For asupervisor, is getting control over time by any means moreimportant, or is learning self-control more important?
