Monochronic and Polychronic Cultures

Hello, my lovely blog-readers :)

Are you wondering what these terms in the title mean? I did so too when I first stumbled over these words when I started studying for one of the upcoming exams! So I did some research and I have to say I found some really interesting stuff. I didn't know before, that this kind of classification even exists.

Those terms are part of Chronemics, the study of the use and understanding of time in nonverbal communication. Monochronic cultures are cultures where people like to concentrate on only one thing at a time. They take their job very seriously and mostly stick to a time schedule accurately. They view time as if it were linear. They are punctual and expect punctuality form the others. Monochronic cultures also show a great respect for private property, which means they don't borrow or lend things often and voluntarily. 
People from polychronic cultures, however, are likely to be doing more things simultaneously. They can be easily distracted while trying to complete a task, but they don't see the distraction as a bad thing. Polychronic cultures value the emotional and social life higher than a certain time schedule and they change plans easily and often. The events will happen when they happen. They don't have a linear view of time but a cyclical or also called vertical view. 
There are certain countries that belong either to monochronic or polychronic cultures. For example, the United States, as well as Canada and Alaska, is part of the monochronic world.  So is the Northern Europe and some countries in Asia, like Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. If you live in Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, Southern Europe or in India, China or Pakistan, you live in a polychronic culture. I also found out, that Hawaii is a little bit special regarding this topic. In Hawaii, there are two different time systems, the Haole time and the Hawaiian time. When somebody says "Let's meet at 5 p.m. haole time", it means you should be there punctually at 5 o' clock. But if someone says "Let's meet at 5 p.m. Hawaiian time", they mean they will be there around 5 o' clock and not on time. Within the Native American community there is the same lax time management as in Hawaii. There you often hear people say "we are on Indian time". 
Interactions between these two types of cultures could be quite problematic. You should always inform yourself about the time management habits of your meeting partner. If you are planning to meet a polychronic person, you should be prepared to wait and maybe talk about your personal experiences. Time can also be an indicator of hierarchy. For example, a boss can easily delay or call off a meeting, even in the middle of the event. An employee, however, has to obey the rules of the boss. Also communication can be affected by the different time systems. The length of the conversation, turn-taking and who initiates and ends the talk is influenced by the speakers cultural backgrounds. Research has shown that monochronic people, who are more organized, are more likely to speak longer and more often. 

As for me, I belong to the monochronic part of the world here in Austria. But somehow I don't think this can be generalized so easily. I, for example, feel like I belong more to the polychronic cultures. I like doing more things at the same time and I am also very easily distracted. Of course I don't always approve of the interruption but nevertheless I think I show more characteristics of a polychronic person than a monochronic. What about you? Do you live in a monochronic or polychronic country? Do you behave exactly like the definitions say?

I hope you found this post interesting even if it was a little bit dry. 

Enjoy your weekend!

Larissi ♥