Is the 9 - 5 dead? How about 1 - 6 Instead?

5 MINUTE READ

When was the last time we checked in with our people or had an open dialogue about when they are the most productive? About what hours of the day they can accomplish the most amount of work in the most effective way? When do they feel in the zone?
The 40-hour work-week is a construct created in the late 19th century—that we’ve all just accepted as necessary. Pia Silva, published in Forbes (article below) gives a great glimpse into how she has successfully mastered the 5 hour work day.
Guess what gets cut out? Procrastination, Facebook scrolling, hour + lunch breaks, mindless meetings and idle chit chat. As you can see these are not the stuff businesses are built on. 

This article raises an interesting concept for us to start thinking about. What if we unchained our people from the confines of a 9 - 5? What if we empowered people to own their work and run their part of the business as their own little business? What if they were fully responsible and accountable to get the job done and how they did that was on their own terms, hours and schedule?

I'm no scientist, but I have learnt that when we empower people to create their own lives without any limits and in accordance to their values, well, magic happens.

Food for thought,

Tess Sloane, Talent Lab