The Paradox of Discontinuities: Flexibility and Sensemaking

Today’s work environment is complex and challenging for workers. Organizations are increasingly focused on collaboration and seek the advantages of flexibility to facilitate innovation. In many organizations, the rate of change itself has increased, driven by more intense competition. Information and communication technologies (ICT) are widespread and their use is deeply integrated into work processes, as workers collaborate electronically with co-workers they may never meet face-to-face or with employees of other companies. These trends are linked because of the widely held view that ICT overcomes barriers to collaboration and enhances flexibility to meet the demands of rapidly changing competitive environments. Work in these flexible organizations is often problematic. Many of the apparently unrelated characteristics of work are symptoms of a common underlying phenomenon, namely, discontinuity, meaning a lack of coherence in aspects of the work being performed. Organizations must deal with the paradox that just as ICT provides a bridge—or continuity—enabling a more responsive workforce, workers are likely to face additional discontinuities in their work environments. While useful for allowing organizational flexibility and innovation, discontinuities can also be problematic because they increase the uncertainty workers face and thus make sensemaking more difficult. When multiple discontinuities are bundled together, the challenges may be even greater. Coping mechanisms and adaptive behaviors must be developed to reduce the effects of uncertainty. The paradox of discontinuities 3 In this paper, we offer a perspective that makes sense of the possibilities and unintended consequences inherent in ICT-supported flexible work, and suggest possible strategies for overcoming the related problems. An important component of our theory is this notion of continuities, or a set of constant elements, which help bridge the increasing lack of coherence found in the work environment. The theory of discontinuities provides a foundation for deeper insight into ICT-supported flexible work, and provides guidance for both future research and for practicing managers.