When I read Michelle’s post about taking more time to
“play,” it caused me to think of the American work schedule. Since the Fair
Labor Standards Act in 1948, American society has adopted the norm of a 40 hour
work week. Employees in the 1940s fought for fair work conditions; Ford Motor
Company even scaled back its weeks from 48 hours to 40 hours.
The 40-hour workweek was created to encourage companies to
limit the work they could demand from employees. With the changes in machinery,
productivity and technology, society has more or less mastered the art of
productivity. It’s easier to communicate, follow up, keep in touch, and connect.
Online cloud systems (Asana and Gantt, for example) allow teams and companies
to track their progress on projects and campaigns. Companies like Cisco,
Skype and GoToMeetings enable teams to connect from all over the world. I
remember one time I was on a conference call with team members across three
countries and four time zones. This newfound mobility calls into question
whether it’s necessary for a team to meet at the same location 40 hours a week.
I am confident it’d be worth it for companies to begin exploring more flexible workplace policies.
The book Let my People
go Surfing greatly buys into this idea—if it’s more important for someone
to take a two hour break and go surfing so that they can clear their head and
come back refocused, then so be it. If companies were to relax their work
schedule policies, would it create happier, more productive work cultures? I
believe that yes, it would. If I knew I wouldn’t get fired for taking a day off
every week, I would absolutely be more motivated to get my work done in four
days than in five, but that’s just me.
Love your post! I almost talked about this myself. There are some significant dogmas when it comes to employment in the USA. Obviously there are certain jobs that require you to be there 9-5, i mean physically be there. I am thinking of like a cashier, that has to be there to serve anyone who comes in. However, many people who work 9-5 could complete their work outside of this time frame. Many employers it seems are more concerned that you are on time to work and that you stay for your whole shift than they are with the actual work that they do. This method of thought needs to go!
ReplyDelete