We have seen a significant shift in how companies and individuals work over the last 2 years.  We have seen companies that demanded that all employees be in their buildings 8 hours a day, 40 hours per week.  Over the last decades the demand for office space has risen continually because of this mindset.

Did you know that the 40 hour work week was developed by Henry Ford around 1926 to cut down the actual amount of hours that employees were working at factories?  Prior to this change, it was normal to work 10 - 16 hour days.  With all of that time working, no one would have time to spend with their family or feel that they needed the cars they were building.

Now almost 100 years later, a new shift is occurring.  People are working less hours and focusing more on work completed and less on actual hours worked.  Technology has skyrocketed this shift in efficiency.  People can now produce the same or better results working from home or from Starbucks in less time than it would take to drive to an office, greet coworkers on the way in, get their coffee and finally settle into their desks.

In our own company we have seen the efficiencies in online meetings compared to all of the driving time it once took to get to physical meetings.  The saved travel time allows more actual work to be accomplished.

Implementing a Shorter Workweek - How we did it!

• Shift to 36 hour work with w/ 4 hours on Fridays
• Trial for 3 months
• Focus on work completed vs. hours worked
• Being more efficient - 45 minute meetings or less
• Time does not equal efficiency

2 Month Mark - What's Working & What's Not

• WORKING
• • Flexibility it has provided the team
  • Team engagement is up
  • Less time off for staff for personal appointments

• NOT WORKING
• • Not all staff onboard for less hours
  • • Generational
  • Clients demanding more attention on Friday afternoons
  • Realizing not all staff can flex the same day

• POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS
• • Consider 36 hours where the 1/2 day varies by employee on what works best for them to meet client needs
  • Mentoring for those that are working at the 40 hour pace to streamline their business practices (less time on email and more time on direct client services)