9 to 3 should be the new 9 to 5

9 to 5 is stuck in our heads as the typical workday. I’m not sure if it’s Dolly Parton’s song and 1980 smash hit movie that burned this into our psyche but 8 hours is what we expect to spend at work. I actually think, for the last few decades, it is probably closer to 8 to 5. But either way, it’s nice to see this work-day idea dying off, at least in the office environment (retail and consumer services like restaurants don’t fit well in this description). Consider these things:

• Most professional adults don’t need to be babysat at work by a manager since tablets, smartphones, and collaboration software (dropbox, SharePoint, Skype, Salesforce,…) make communication and access to work a 24/7 option;
• People are not spending all their time at work working anyway. A lot of the time there just aren’t things that need to be done at the times we’re at work. Trying to look busy at work because you have to be there is degrading and immature. There are two peolpe to blame for this silly habit. Management, who insist that people stay put because that’s what we have always done and they lack the imagination and guts to come up with another business model; and Staff, who are so terrified that if they are not doing as they are told, they’ll lose their job and eventually be living in a cardboard box. Shame on you both. Everyone loses in this line of thinking, the company, staff, and particularly the customer.
• People need time to relax, not a lot of time, but some time. Being around office gossip, politics, deadlines, and just a lot of people is stressful and unhealthy. People need to decompress regularly.
• The price of work-related stress is immense on individuals and their families. When we get stressed and our children also pay the price, then there is a serious problem. This is inexcusable and everyone needs to be part of the solution.

That’s why I think we need to have a 9 to 3 work day. I’m not even advocating telecommuting or the office of the future. Just less time sitting around at work. Changing habits is always hard and there is no reason we need to maintain antiquated work-hours. It sounds like a good idea:

• We get some time in the morning to start our day. See our kids or walk the dog, exercise, do yoga, read, call a plumber, renew your passport,…
• We get more sleep.
• We are in better sync with school schedules so children are looked after.
• We do not have to work less, just less time at work. Working another 1-2 hours in the evening at home when the kids go to bed is more efficient than in the office and allows us to focus on results not hours worked.
• This creates good work habits because we work when we need to not when someone is telling us to look busy.
• We are less stressed because we have time to decompress. The problem is rarely What we do for a living, it’s How we do it.

I am optimistic changes like this are taking hold. But since managers make most of the decisions this one is still tough. Most managers spend their time managing people. Do you think they would make the decision to put themselves out of work? Likely not. But if you are a manager or business owner looking for an edge, try 9 to 3. I’m certain you won’t have any problem attracting and retaining staff. Nothing is better than disrupting bad work habits and improving people’s lives at the same time.

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