Firefighting: The Effects of Time Pressure on Employee Innovation

Employees are facing greater and greater levels of time pressure, however, there is also a greater push for innovation. There is a need, therefore, to understand the effects of time pressure on employee innovation, particularly as previous research has provided conflicting results. I interviewed 65 engineers from four sites in two large organizations and found that three mechanisms underlay the relationship: prioritising, focusing, and risk aversion. When the innovation was of high priority, or a narrow focus was needed, time pressure facilitated employee innovation, however when the innovation was low priority, a broader focus was needed, or the innovation was in the evaluation or implementation stages, then time pressure impeded employee innovation