Time, relationships and wellbeing

Time is what we want most, but . . . what we use worst.   William Penn

Why the fuss about time? Because it ultimately affects our wellbeing. That may be the short and simple answer, but to understand how it affects our wellbeing requires us to learn more about the concept of time, how it shapes our behaviour and how it is affected by policy.

Our society’s conceptualisation of time inevitably creates some underlying basic assumptions that precondition the way we behave and use and experience time. How we view time affects how we live. Over an extended duration, these assumptions are embedded in our tacit consciousness and evolve to become societal trends. Time is indeed like a handful of sand – the tighter we grasp it, the faster it runs through our fingers. Before we know it, time and life will have passed us by. With the use and passing of time, relationships can be either fostered or terminated, built or destroyed, repaired or left to decay, strengthened or weakened, enjoyed or endured.

Modern Britain seems to be characterised by a culture of speed, short-termism, a culture of 24/7 instantaneity, a dearth of genuine leisure, time famine and time disempowerment. From the evidence and discussion in Time: Concepts & Trends – How Attitudes, Personal Choices, Cultural Norms and Public Policies Impact on Relationships and Wellbeing we suggest that our attitude towards time, the choices we make with regard to how we use our time, our experience of time and policies that either directly or indirectly influence our use and control of time all conspire to create a profound and far-reaching impact on the way we live our lives, the way we work and play, our relationships and, consequently, our wellbeing.

We also argue that time is the currency of relationships and enabler of public services. Time is the answer to the question of how we can improve our wellbeing despite an imminent squeeze on public spending. Time is an important factor in seeking to make a difference to our wellbeing through public services delivery and interactions on the frontline. Our research documented in It’s About Time: The Time Factor in Public Services and Its Impact on Relationships and Wellbeing discovered that:

 Given that all of the above are arguably detrimental to our wellbeing in one way or another, the time factor in public services is therefore of paramount importance for enhancing the quality of service relationships between frontline agents and service users, and the quality of the services themselves that make a positive difference to people’s lives. We believe the heart of the solution lies in getting frontline service agents – teachers, the police, prison governors, probation officers, doctors, nurses, GPs, health visitors, maternity staff, carers, youth workers and social workers among many other public sector personnel – to spend adequate time with service users and in enabling through policy that time to be spent more optimally and productively.