As employees increasingly prioritise workplace flexibility, a German tech consulting firm is giving a 25-hour workweek a shot, The Wall Street Journal reports. Rheingans Digital Enabler, a 16-person startup, lays down some ground rules. The firm has banned social media use, staffers check email twice a day and small talk is not encouraged. The results? Employees are just as productive, and they have more time for life outside of work.
Could you get all your work done in 5 hours, instead of 8, if you cut emails, small talk and social media? A German tech firm is doing just that. Read my latest The Wall Street Journal article on the attempt to strike #worklifebalance .
5 hours of distraction free, productive work per day 5 days a week, what's not to like. A brave step in the right direction for improved wellbeing for employees. A positive habit building exercise to limit the interruption of digital media and productivity stealing emails. Can't wait to see the progress report #CanDo
Work hours Cutting #workhours does not necessarily mean cutting the hours an individual has to #work or will #work. Office timings does not determine #workhours any more. in the always connected always working world. Expectations determine #workhours. Germany may be experimenting with work hours, France has dictated it and there are moves to ban #email after #workhours. All these are fine for developed countries but in India, most professionals are available on #email 24/7/365 days. Resulting in the rise of #emailwarriors, who are quick to respond to #email but incapable of anything involving deeper engagement. They are incapable of planning beyond a week, forget a year. Their outlook does not extend beyond a working day, Their biggest #satisfaction comes from being #busy. The only outcome they measure is in the short term. This is creating a new type of organisation that is focused on the now and has no plans for tomorrow. This does not make #organisations sustainable and as a result #careers are getting shorter and shorter. Matter of facts they are not referred as #careers or work any more but #gigs to reflect this shift. #WeWorks
The real questions are: "How much time do you waste at work?" "How distracted are you from your highest priorities?" "What can you do differently with your schedule to optimize your performance?" I appreciate the point of this article - human beings aren't machines and the better quality of our out-of-office life, the better quality of our work product. #performance #optimization #worklifebalance #smalltalk #worklifeintegration #lifestyleandleisure #retentionstrategies
Very interesting article on a 5 hour work day vs the traditional 8 hours. It is true a lot more can get done and improve our work/life balance if we weed out the distractions, optimize our time, limit and maximize meetings' time.
A drawback to a shorter workday: ‘Everyone’s outside life got so much better, at the expense of their passion for the work.’ https://bit.ly/2p8vuKX
This is something I’ve been preaching since I’ve entered the corporate world. Efficiency, production, and growth are all driven by “front line” employees. This CEO understands that in order for this to happen, the key is to hyper-focus those employees with the incentive of returning 3.5 hours (based on 8 hours with a 30 minute unpaid lunch) of their day. This will focus the entire team on production. From employees cutting out small talk and social media, to mid-level managers really focusing meetings to 15 minutes or less. I’ve always stated “I would love to come to work, get my work done, and go home, without being tied by a clock” “It’s not really about the process of establishing a five-hour day. It’s about individual maturity,”....“It’s so silly to think of a 40-hour workweek when work is not a place or time.” It’s an activity.
Project Manager, Technical Consultant and Cloud Enthusiast.
2 interesting pieces of news within one day. The first is about the 25 hours work week. Well, it's not yet 4 hours work week, the ideal dream state mentioned in the famous book of the same name, but it's definitely a step in the right direction. After all, it's not really the time spent in office but the productivity that matters. Cutting out all the distractions and optimizing the work conditions really helps increase productivity a great deal. The question here is, will the employers be willing to cut down the work hours of the employees or they will still keep the same work hours even with the increased productivity and reap more profits for themselves? The second is the article about the recruiter making hiring decision after listening to 7 words said by the candidate. It's not fair, but it's human behavior, and instead of trying to change it, which is quite futile, candidates should make use of that knowledge and turn it into their benefits when going for interviews. The first few words they utter in the interviews are the most crucial, so make them count. Make sure the words are chosen carefully, and it will be good to prepare and rehearse a short script beforehand. With that preparation done right, the battle is easier.