4 Signs The 9-to-5 Workday is Going The Way of The Dinosaurs
Is the 9-to-5 on its way to extinction? Corporate America thinks so. Salesforce is the latest company to join an ever growing list of organizations moving away from the traditional 9-to-5 workday and towards more flexible, human centric approaches to work. Is your company next? Check out these 4 signs to see if the 9-to-5 is on its way out where you work.
#1: Choice
Many new work policies are putting the power of choice into the employee’s hands for once. Gone are the days of showing up 5 minutes late to work and seeing your boss standing next to year desk, arms folded, scowl and annoyance written across their face.
Most companies are moving towards a project based style of work where the focus is about project or task completion and less about clocking 8 hours a day.
Companies are starting to offer three options: flex, fully remote and office-based.
Flex means coming into the office a few days a week for meetings and other activities best suited to in-person collaboration. Fully remote means never having to come into the office and office-based is the opposite with full workdays in-person at the office.
If your company is giving you a choice of how, when and where you work, it’s likely they’re making way for the future of work and recognizing employees actually really like having ownership over their success in their job and working environment. Huzzah for the people!
#2: Recognizing the Human Element
People aren’t just their jobs. A job is an aspect of a person’s identity but at the core, they’re still a human being with needs, goals, challenges and emotions. Companies are starting to recognize and see their workforce as more than employees. With working from home, we get a glimpse into someone’s home and home life such as children and pets and it makes us see people holistically and personally.
Many believe flexible schedules/environments not only make for better employees, but better human beings, too. Humans tend to be more productive, efficient, driven and goal oriented when we are happy, excited and engaged in what we are doing.
The more companies focus on employee’s mental health, satisfaction and support in their day to day lives, the higher the productivity and retention rate becomes. Not only does the company culture become a system people want to be engaged in and part of, but a positive and happy workplace helps attract and keep top talent too. This is a win-win for the company and employees!
#3: Making Financial Sense
Ok, I’m not math or number savvy, but even I know not being in the office 40 hours a week using electricity and water saves money. In an era where companies are becoming more eco-friendly and the nature of real estate is changing, the big office complexes are slowly becoming a thing of the past. Co-working or collaborative spaces that flex with team needs and wants are the way of the future.
#4: Promoting Balance
Having worked remotely myself in various organizations, I’ve found everyone has to be willing to still come together and collaborate to work through the deep issues. From my experience, the best flexible work has central hours where people feel they can reach people without intruding on their personal time but is flexible enough to accommodate people’s preferences.
If solid ground rules aren’t put into place when a person comes into an existing virtual team or an in-person team transitions to virtual or flexible scheduling, people can feel isolated, alone or left feeling confused and anxious about when and how to work successfully within the team.
Whether you are working a flex, remote or office-based schedule, there are ways to balance people’s preferences but still ensure business mission and goals are still getting done. It’s all about balance.
Parting Words...
With societies becoming more global and technology assisting in the “work from anywhere” mentality, is there a need for the strict 8-hour schedule anymore? As a career coach and Millennial, I’m an advocate of a flex schedule where I can still be social with my colleagues but have the alone time to think deeply and critically about work.
No one knows what the future holds but if recent trends are any indication, you might find the 9-to-5, sitting at a desk profession becoming a thing of the past sooner than you think.
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Meet The Writer!
Hi! My name is Nadia Ibrahim-Taney and I help people design happy and fulfilling careers through authentic career coaching. My expertise includes career exploration guidance, resume writing, interview prep and LinkedIn profile optimization. My pronouns are She/ Her/ Hers and as a member of the LGBTQ+ community, I focus on how diverse identities impact and influence folks holistically and professionally. Please connect with me on LinkedIn or at Nadia@beyonddiscoverycoaching.com
