Save the 9 to 5 Workday!

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  1

  IMWeira

  10/13/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Save the 9 to 5 Workday!

  He's right, concentrated effort, right hours, right everything. And everybody you need to talk to is nearby and not on a phone somewhere.

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  2

  RobertbEZ

  10/13/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Save the 9 to 5 Workday!

  I agree with a routine workday but for some of us 9 to 5 is impossible! Many of us work 9 to 7 so that we can contact our vendros and factories overseas. Asia is now a part of our world and contact by phone starts late!
  
  I agree with what you are saying. After 10 years never takinga vacation, my wife and I finally took off for 5 days to Savannah in April. It was incredible and we loved it. Taking vacation is essential to refresh the mind and your entire perspective!!

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  3

  Juffowup

  10/13/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Save the 9 to 5 Workday!

  Well yes and no. I've been running my own company for a long time and irregular work hours are the norm for me and a lot of our employees.
  
  Sometimes this is necessary because we have clients around the world and they need attention and delivery from us at different times, so we need to do early or extremely late days sometimes. Also, we're located all around the world, so some of us simply can't do 9-5, we often have to do much different.
  
  On the downside though, this makes things irregular for us and does sometimes encroach on that work-life balance. Also, sometimes it leads to missing valuable time with clients in favor of time with other valuable clients.
  
  So it's not quite like the poster says where people are doing it out of choice not to deal with 9-5, it's actually a necessity for some of us.
  
  We are a software company though and since software is a virtual product, it's a lot easier to do this. I think an engineering, healthcare, or chemical company would have a much harder time because of a physical location where product or service work takes place. Those situations necessistate an at least semi-regular physical presence.
  
  So I think the answer to this is, yes, the internet has enabled us to communicate quite instantly. Whether someone should choose a 9-5, or a more flexible schedule really depends on what they're doing.

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  4

  aabhatna

  10/14/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Save the 9 to 5 Workday!

  Yes and no here as well. Working round the clock means having to use collborative tools and attend meetings from home office. Yes, concentrated efforts need us to be at 'office' but to each their own...for some people like working mothers it works best to have a mix of both. For greater inclusion and to serve a diverse workforce - not to mention clients and global workforces, 9-5 is getting blurred with 5-9!

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  Juffowup

  10/14/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Save the 9 to 5 Workday!

  You know... I have actually done plenty of 5 to 9 days.

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  6

  chicagoman2007

  10/14/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Save the 9 to 5 Workday!

  Horsepucky. Flexible work hours does NOT equate to being available 24-7. I work 5-6 M-Th. I take a two hour lunch to go to the gym. The schedule works for both my clients and me. My boss never calls me on Fridays or after 6. Flexibility is still the way to go.

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  DataDude1

  10/14/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Save the 9 to 5 Workday!

  I too can see both sides of the fence on this issue. But I have to agree with the flexibility argument. I have given too much time up to work in the past and missed out on family or personal time. Finding a workable balance, means a schedule that includes flexibility be it 9 - 5 one day and 5 - 9 the next.

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  aparna.vishwasrao@...

  10/14/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Save the 9 to 5 Workday!

  I could not agree more with 2 ideas here :
  - there should be some distinction between personal and professional life ie you should get dedicated time to your self in a working day .It actually helps you to be more productive . Methinks when you are constantly " connected " to office - then there is only information processing no real strategic work happening there
  
  -forcing employees to disconnect from office does help on both the fronts - creativity and productivity . I can vouch for it by my personal experience
  
  thanks
  Aparna Vishwasrao
  India
  

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  9

  vulpine@...

  10/14/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Save the 9 to 5 Workday!

  In part, I disagree. It may be true where a company
  has the majority of its staff in one time zone, when
  you have a staff that spans all four US timezones with
  the highest concentrations on East and West coasts,
  there can be some issues with the schedule. This also
  means that if an East Coast employee works on a
  West Coast team, half of their day is effectively
  wasted until the team finally comes online.
  
  Of course, this does assume you adhere to the
  "sterile office environment" as well. Allowing
  some flexibility can permit the team to work as a
  team, no matter the employees' time zone of
  residence. Not everybody works from the same office
  as everybody else. If you have a team that works well
  together despite the geographical separation, that
  sterile office environment is more a hindrance than a
  help.
  
  Yes, when bringing in a new employee you want to
  directly monitor their abilities and work habits. It's
  pretty easy to discover who the outstanding workers
  are compared to the average. Give a worker three or
  four years in that office and if they excel beyond
  expectations, they should be worthy of promotion and
  benefits beyond as well. Such employees should have
  the privilege of either telecommuting, flexible schedule
  to work with their team, or both. If anything, you're
  likely to see an increase in productivity from this kind
  of person while concurrently realizing a decrease in
  costs in maintaining their workspace.
  
  " ... Forcing employees to disconnect from the
  office on a regular basis" is just as possible in a
  telecommuting environment when management
  knows what they're doing.

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  dasuarez

  10/14/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Save the 9 to 5 Workday!

  If the world ever went back to 9 to 5 for everyone, people would have to leave at 6am in the morning from to get to work by 9 and then not get home until 8pm. Hmm, so much for free time. At least that's how it works in a major metro area. I think that alone is enough justification for flex time. Not to mention staggering work schedules, improving commute times also helps the environment.
  
  Personally, I would prefer to work from a home office 2-3 days a week and go in the other days. I get a lot more work done when I am not interruppted by unnecessary conversations and questions from coworkers every 5 minutes. Please don't misunderstand me, I enjoy people but it is a lot easier to control the work time when I can shut myself in and produce as a Programmer/Analyst. However, I do realize that not all personalities can handle the self-discipline of the work from home or flexible environment.
  
  Bottom line is, you really can't make that judgement call a one way or the other deal. It is really about a combination of having both worlds.

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  R. B.

  10/14/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Save the 9 to 5 Workday!

  I don't agree. I've worked at several companies where we had irregular work schedules. The rule has always been, if it doesn't hurt the company and it helps the employee and it doesn't cost anything, why in the heck not do it?
  
  What I've found is that we wind up having more coverage over a longer span of hours because we have some people who prefer to come in early and leave early and some who prefer coming in late and leaving late. So it has actually been BENEFICIAL to the company to have people who worked staggered shifts. We set some parameters and again, we have to determine it doesn't impact the company in a negative way. Most of the time, it works. Which makes the employee feel great because they get to work the hours that are most convenient for them...and those are usually when they are most productive. Interestingly enough, morning people are more alert and productive in the morning. Those who like to sleep in don't do so well in the early morning. They come in later...10 or 11 in some cases...and provide coverage later in the day. We span more time zones and are available longer to our customers. So who needs 9 to 5?
  
  It doesn't mean the individual is available 24 hours a day either. It just means your shift is at a different time than someone's idea of the traditional ideal. What difference does it make? If we kept doing things the way they were always done because we wanted to hang on to the traditional way of doing things with no real reason to do so, we would have never started using telephones!
  
  I think you have to look at what works for your particular business. Make decisions based on what's beneficial now, today, the way you do business, and what is doable, not based on what has always been done just for the sake of hanging on to past tradition. It's just my opinion and everyone is entitled to their own. So I say, 9 to 5 RIP!

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  slcarlson

  10/14/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Save the 9 to 5 Workday!

  Many large companies have a very dispersed presence, even in the US. Meaning..large companies have several locations spread across multiple State (not to mention international). I don't see that trend fading away.. Given that, I happen to work for one of those large companies and run projects with teams across multiple domestic sites, time zones, and sometimes, international. The face to face meeting is becoming less frequent. In fact, my virtual meetings are more productive than holding meetings where there is a mixture of face-to-face at some locations, while others are on virtually. Due to my position - I work on eastern time at the beginning of the day, and my local time at the end of the day. I don't know what 9-5 is..and haven't for a very long time..and wouldn't change a thing.. ;o)

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  13

  Vickifa

  10/14/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Save the 9 to 5 Workday!

  I don't think we're saying that work hours should ONLY be 9-5- obviously in this day and age, with workers and clients spanning all different timezones, staggered shifts are a must.
  
  The point is in having a *defined* workday versus personal time. This is MUCH easier if you have an office to go into every day. Even if you log in once you get home, at least you have some separation, and you need that mental break to recharge.
  
  I've worked from home for the past 5 years, and have often found myself logging in when I roll out of bed in the morning, eating all my meals at my desk, and only logging out before bedtime. Of course, I've enjoyed the flexibility to take care of personal tasks during the day as well, but then my "work" day ended up being longer. Pair that with a workaholic culture at my company and you get emails at 11pm, 12am, 1am...from East coasters. And I wonder how productive we all were, anyway. Even if we worked a defined 10 or 12-hour day- 8am-6pm or 8pm, say, and then cut it off- I'll bet we would have all been better off.
  
  I agree with Stefan that flexible work hours are really a fantasy...in actuality it means you are in some degree of "work mode" all the time. And because of that, you can't really enjoy your life in between.
  
  I'm no longer with that company- now doing consulting work which is mostly from home...and trying to break my old bad habits of being logged in all the time. It's a work in progress...but I can't say I'd prefer to have to go into an office every day, even after all I've said!

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  olatunjisawyerr

  10/15/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Save the 9 to 5 Workday!

  I ardently believe that work is meant to be enjoyed and hardly distinguishable from play. I am in small business counseling and have a very flexible work schedule. Still I am able to get away every Friday to Sunday on a social volunteer assignment in a remote village (with phones and computers switched off) and 2 to 3 weeks on annual vacation with very limited interference by clients. From tunjisawyerr@businesscounselors.org

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  Juffowup

  10/16/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Save the 9 to 5 Workday!

  Well also take into consideration that when there's hardware, chemicals, electronics, etc. involved that needs to be experimented on, built, tested etc. that it necessitates many people working together at once.
  
  We've moved away from a manufacturing economy but a lot of chemistry, biology, abd mechanical/electrical/aersopace/civil/chemical engineering still goes on. For those type of jobs, it's relatively important to be in a physical presence of the materials and the other people - so those people can't avoid a regular physical presence.
  
  But for things that don't require that like software, it's much much easier.

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  Mrs. E

  10/19/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Save the 9 to 5 Workday!

  Clocking out for a "mandatory" unpaid hour for lunch means you are effectively at work from 8-5 or 9-6. Personally, I have no need or desire to sit around for an hour doing nothing. I work in an area far from home, so errands I may need to run cannot be done at lunch, I can't go home for lunch (I used to work close to home, home for lunch is really nice), I can't schedule doctors appointments around my lunch (that is near my home) and our company has staggered coverage to help accomodate the mysterious "off-shore" production crew. I chose to work 9-6 since it takes me twice as long to get to work if try to get here by 8, same on the way home. I do not like getting 0 miles to the gallon sitting in traffic. I have a job that could be done from any of our branches, but I am not allowed to work at an office that is close to home becuase the department I am paid from is physically located in another city. Even when the possibilty exists to send work over-seas, the need to have a central crew "on-shore" means that instead of allowing a dispursement of the work that is entirely network based is not going to happen.

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  HilaryB

  10/20/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Save the 9 to 5 Workday!

  I have two jobs, do voluntary work and studies besides being determined to have the resemblance of a home life. This requires a flexible working day to also enable me to have time out that is "me time". There are many jobs, and personalities that require the 9 to 5 approach and I don't envisage that this pattern would be lost entirely. However I would be totally stuffed with this inflexibility with workplace demands serving both a local and international needs, as well as my own needs... this isn't to say that I get it right every day.
  
  Heres to the opportunity of meeting both employer, customer and employee demands!

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  kyle@...

  11/10/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Save the 9 to 5 Workday!

  At my company, E-Cubed, we have recently initiated an optional 4 day work week for all our staff. About half have decided to partake and we will rotate every quarter for those who took the optimal Fridays or Mondays. We are an Experience Design firm in Vancouver, Canada and most of our work is related to web design and eBusiness consulting. The flexible week allows people to attend to their personal lives with less rigid constraints. So far so good.