Chronemics is the study of the use of time in nonverbal communication. Here we introduce a brief description of each approach.

Conversely, monochronic refers to an individual’s preference to do their activities one by one.

As you may have guessed, monochronic cultures are quite the opposite of polychronic cultures.

The Impact of Monochronic and Polychronic Time on Business Sit back and actively listen to your fellow coworkers, be it during a conference call or a face-to-face meeting. Meaning of polychronic in English: polychronic. Early 20th century; earliest use found in Frederic Edward Clements (1874–1945). In polychronic Japan, is to be avoided at all costs because it disrupts the flow of information by shutting people off from one another. 2 Performing elements of different tasks concurrently (as opposed to sequentially). So is the Northern Europe and some countries in Asia, like Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.

Listening is important, but active listening builds rapport, trust and respect. In polychronic systems, appointments mean very little and may be shifted around even at the last minute to accommodate someone more important in an individual’s hierarchy of family, friends, or associates. Monochronic time, which is presumed to be used in the United States of America, Western and Northern Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and perhaps Japan.

Monochronic versus polychronic time perception is one culturally programmed difference of great importance for project managers.

The terms polychronic and monochronic are used to describe how we understand and use time as well as how time affects our attitudes, behaviours and communication. Polychronic negotiators take time to negotiate as relationship building is key, whereas monochronic negotiators tend to optimize time at the negotiation table.

For example, the United States, as well as Canada and Alaska, is part of the monochronic world. adjective. There are certain countries that belong either to monochronic or polychronic cultures. Delays of 30 minutes or more are common.

Origin. Edward T. Hall, a prominent American anthropologist, divided the world into two major cultural poles regarding attitudes towards time: monochronic and polychronic.


This difference is expressed through a cultural duality called Monochronic time and Polychronic time.

From poly- + chronic.



In The Silent Language (1959), Edward T. Hall used the term polychronic to describe the preference for doing several things at once.
1 Relating to, taking place in, or dating from several distinct periods of time. In monochronic business cultures, time is money and lost profit is usually the greatest cost of project delay. Time perceptions include punctuality, willingness to wait, and interactions. Monochronic cultures tend to do one thing at a time, adhere to an orderly schedule of some kind, and respect personal boundaries more emphatically. Negotiators from monochronic and polychronic cultures do not spend the same amount of time at the negotiation table. In monochronic cultures – like those of the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, Germany, Switzerland, Scandinavia, Canada, Taiwan, South Korea, and Turkey, to name a few – time is divided strictly into specific tasks. Monochronic time