People are not actually moving faster, but they just have more to do, more decisions to make. At the heart of the cultural change brewing in Silicon Valley is the omnipresence of technology - the laptops, cellphones, personal organisers and pagers that weave people into a complex web of constant communication. Multi-tasking, or working on a number of different issues at the same time, has become standard in Silicon Valley, where the researchers say a family movie outing or a school sporting event can quickly become a venue for networking, catching up on office work, or angling for the next job. And more and more Silicon Valley residents are resorting to what the researchers call ''chunk management'' of their lives - using quick, often unplanned meetings with colleagues, spouses and children to establish the next game plan. For many, the high-tech argot is already creeping in to their social lives.
Some companies refer to family members as ''drag units'' which can limit employee productivity.
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