How Multitasking Affects a Small Business: Are Men Better Than Women at Multitasking?

Multitasking is just that, doing more than one task at the same time. When it comes to small businesses, most small business owners do multitasking because many of them work alone or have a few employees to whom a multiplicity of simultaneous tasks can be delegated.

The word multitask is defined by dictionary.com as “to work at several different tasks simultaneously”.

Multitasking in a small business context tends toward many variations and is not always simultaneous, but usually depicts a multiplicity of different tasks carried out by the same person, during a designated time. The multitasking may constitute different tasks where one bounces back and forth between them.

The article, “The myth of multitasking” suggests that the word multitasking was “used for decades to describe the parallel processing abilities of computers, multitasking is now shorthand for the human attempt to do simultaneously as many things as possible, as quickly as possible, preferably marshaling the power of as many technologies as possible.” 

Human beings are just beginning to discover their own innate ability to multitask and are finding more and more appropriate applications in terms of small business. This is not suggesting that multitasking is a new phenomenon as humankind has been multitasking ever since the beginning of time. There is a transition in terms of technology.

The ability of the owner to multitask, or the willingness to allow employees to multitask, will often determine the impact of multitasking on a small business. Not every owner is good at multitasking and his or her employees may not be able to multitask effectively, either. When that is the case, more employees cover the diversity of tasks.

There is always the possibility of error on the part of anyone who is multitasking.

A time factor is involved in multitasking too, one that requires good judgment in terms of setting and carrying out task priorities. Changing from task to task, takes time and is not always easy, depending upon the ability of the person engaged in the multitasking. In this kind of a scenario, it can have a negative impact on a small business.        

At the same time, when a small business owner is skilled at multitasking, as many are, he or she can avoid hiring more employees. If one person can multitask in terms of carrying out all of the jobs, fewer employees are needed. Problems may arise when that person is not available and someone else has to do the multitasking. 

Employers often seek employees who are able to multitask.   

When a small business owner sees him or herself as being indispensable because of his or her multitasking ability, that is not usually a problem, but when it is an employee, tensions can arise in a small business. No employee is indispensable, whether he or she can multitask or not.

Questions about the impact of multitasking on a small business may arise when one begins to assess the stress and burnout level of those who are multitasking. There is also the question of men versus women. Who are the most effective at multitasking? 

Perhaps future research will reveal new and different phenomena related to the impact of multitasking on a small business.