Thursday, July 10, 2014

The Kindness of Respecting Availability

"The mobile phone... is a tool for those whose professions require a fast response, such as doctors or plumbers."
Umberto Eco

We live in a world of instant messaging, instant responses...  Sometimes, it seems that our capacity for waiting for responses has significantly decreased.  In many workplaces, there is a rule about responding to e-mails within 24 hours, but some people expect replies much faster and have trouble with anything other than an immediate response to an e-mail or text.  It's as if we have forgotten to think about the other person's availability.

I appreciate people who begin a conversation by asking, "Is this a good time to talk?"  Recently, a friend of mine took it one step further.  She texted me to say that she did not want to disturb me while I was working, so could I call her later in the day.  That type of kindness makes me want to make the call.

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