No More 9 to 5 Dolly!

The traditional 9 to 5 – for many unfortunate workers it is still firmly in place. A recent Mercer report recorded that a survey of UK HRD’s suggested that only 13% of Uk firms have proper smart and flexible working options in place.

Yet technology advances – even small tweaks – can revolutionise the work patterns of your workforce – but even though it is 2019, some Leaders don’t get it.  However, there are still some Dinosaurs out there demanding presence in the office, shunning technology and encouraging the living hell of the commute. These are Leaders who are locked in the 9 to 5, five days a week mindset.

What can we do to free up their minds?

The Fight-Flight-Freeze response is the body’s automatic, built-in system designed to protect us from threat or danger.  We all have it. It’s critical to our survival from true threat or danger, but what happens when there is no real danger? It’s biology, so it is still there…….lurking in the background and when someone at work suggests change – let’s try smart working for a change – it kicks in to action again!

It’s a matter of helping them to think rationally, creatively and look at the opportunities it opens up for their business.  This is the subject of our Introductory Smart Leadership Workshop – perhaps your team could benefit from a session.

Fear Not – Smart Working is not a dangerous sport.

A Harvard study of a company called CTrip found that by removing the commute, productivity naturally increased by 9% and rose up further to 13.5% increase when distractions were also removed through remote working.

Why miss out on productivity of almost 1 day per week, wider talent pools and much happier and more diverse workforces.

And there’s more evidence…..

According to a 2012 study from McKinsey Global Institute, the average knowledge economy worker spends 28% of his or her time just reading and answering e-mail.

Another study found that the typical office worker goes only 11 minutes without being interrupted, and once interrupted, it takes an average of 25 minutes to return to the original task.

So, if you want to improve the productivity of your organisation, consider smart working options that might suit your business and customer needs.

Flexible start and finish times will reduce the commute and bring people into your office fresh and ready to go.  Local hub or co-working also reduces commuting time and remote working reduces office based distractions.

The big plus is that all of these options will broaden out your talent pool so that your business can attract the best talent.

So Dolly – no more 9 to 5 please.  Work happens in Brains – not offices.

Take a 4 minute Smart Working Business Diagnosis HERE.  Contact us at ideas@smartworkingrevoution.com or sign up for our NEWSLETTER – full of tips, techniques and Smart Working Trends.