Management of transition phases from inactivity to high-intensity under time-critical conditions : an observational study within Austrian emergency response teams

Emergency response work constitutes one of the most time-critical and consequential domains of contemporary organizational life. Emergency medical services operate under conditions of urgency, uncertainty, and potentially irreversible consequences, characteristics commonly associated with extreme contexts (Hällgren et al., 2017). While prior research has generated substantial insights into coordination and performance during acute emergency episodes, it has predominantly focused on moments of high-intensity action. As a result, the temporal switches that connect periods of inactivity, activation, and recovery remain comparatively under-theorized (Granter et al., 2019; Ishak & Ballard, 2012). Addressing this gap, this study examines how emergency response teams manage recurring transitions from inactivity to high-intensity engagement under time-critical conditions. Drawing on an ethnographic study combining participant observation and short interviews within an Austrian emergency medical service organization, the analysis adopts a process-oriented and temporally sensitive perspective on organizing that treats time as an active dimension of coordination rather than a neutral background variable (Blagoev et al., 2023). The findings show that transitions in emergency response work are not abrupt switches between waiting and acting but unfold as a recurring engagement cycle structured by interrelated stages and temporal switches. During periods of waiting, teams actively maintain anticipatory readiness through embodied vigilance, material arrangements, temporal structuring practices, and emotional regulation. Activation occurs through externally triggered temporal ruptures, such as alarms, which rapidly reorganize attention, movement, and interaction. Following high-intensity engagement, teams engage in socially embedded decompression practices that restore emotional equilibrium and re-establish a workable baseline while preserving readiness for subsequent calls. Based on these findings, the study develops an extended engagement cycle model comprising five analytically derived stages: the meantime as anticipatory readiness, activation through temporal triggers, rapid alignment under temporal compression, high-intensity engagement, and decompression and return to baseline. By foregrounding transitions, waiting, and recovery as central organizing processes rather than peripheral intervals, the study extends research on extreme contexts (Hällgren et al., 2017), organizational temporality (Blagoev et al., 2023), and dynamic teamwork (Marks et al., 2001; Mayo, 2022).