9 to 5 No More, America!

This semester I've focused on the current workplace system that dominates corporate America: the 9 to 5. I've called on corporate America, and all its worker drones, to reconsider whether this 20th century system is the best system for the future. Do we even want a new norm at all? Why is society so scared to just abandon it completely? 

I became particularly fascinated with this as I've interned at Marriott International the past ten months. I found myself shocked at how often people weren't in the office. Interns, assistants, secretaries and managers followed the 9 to 5 (or 8 to 6) norm, but the upper level managers, directors and VPs were gone 75% of the time, traveling and working from home.
What really baffled me was that some worked from home, even though their house was *literally* five minutes from the office. I couldn't fathom why, but I wasn't exactly opposed to it. Work still got done, projects moved forward, and every employee I added on Facebook constantly posted about how much they loved their job at Marriott. 

As I continued to explore this idea, I loved the feedback I got from peers, especially what Kirsten said about other speeches that had been given relating to my topic. Then, on Twitter, I reached out to Josh Steimle (@joshsteimle) and he posed an interesting question about the future of workplace systems. He asked me if we even want a new norm? Do we need to replace the 9 to 5 with a new, cooler version, or do we just want to have no norm at all? 

That changed my perspective: there is no one tell-all solution. The 9 to 5 worked in the 1940s and the second half of the 20th century because the problem was getting companies to require less of their employees. The work in the industrial sector was mundane and repetitive. Technology today has enabled the modern-day employee to have more tools and be more dynamic in what he or she can produce. Productivity is subjective, and it may not require 40 set hours to come up with an incredible solution. Or it may require four full days instead of five. Or perhaps working remotely on-location would bring more genuine inspiration. I don't know! All I know is that there HAS to be a better solution, or there has to be a change in corporate America's willingness to explore alternative systems. 

This has caused me to change my presentation, to including more examples of workplace systems, and more visuals. I also loved presenting my idea in the two-minute video. That was challenging but helped me to condense my ideas to the core, important message. I look forward to seeing if more companies follow the example of companies like Google, Adobe and Twitter and how that will improve employee satisfaction. 

UPDATE:

It is hard to tell what will happen in the future, and I am hopeful more and more companies will become comfortable with changing their workplace policies to include more room for flexibility. It's funny, I am actually planning on working for a large corporation that has the 9 to 5 system, but it does have some flexibility--not as much as I like, but the culture is so awesome that I think it makes up for its lack of slides and nap pods ;). If I had it my way, I would work remotely all the time. I think it's great to just work whenever is most convenient for you on a daily basis, and the freedom to play things by ear is such a bonus for me. 

It would be interesting for companies to ask each employee what they prefer and come up with a way to meet each employee's preferences, but that is easier said than done, especially with companies that have tens of thousands of employees.