Are "Office Hours" Obsolete?
In an age of
smartphones, tablet computers, remote access, telecommuting and working
remotely, I’ve seen a number of articles asking whether “traditional office
hours” are a thing of the past.
There are arguments both for and against, and it really
boils down to what your organisation does, how it does it and its industry. People talk a lot about “knowledge workers”
as being unbound by time and office constraints which is, to an extent,
true. However, before deciding one way
or the other, here are what I see as the pros and cons for abandoning the
“office hours” concept.
PROS:
Studies have shown that “open plan” offices may not actually
be as conducive to productivity as people think. Whilst there are benefits to being able to
see/hear what’s going on around you, it’s almost impossible to produce work
that needs quiet concentration due to all the distractions and interruptions. Some tasks lend themselves well to remote
working (e.g. emails, report writing, planning, returning/making phone calls) and
output may actually be better thanks to the lack of distraction.
There’s no travel time during “rush hour” to get into work
by whatever time it is. You arrive more
relaxed and ready for the day.
You may feel more comfortable/relaxed/creative if you know
you're not constrained by office hours.
People can work when they want. This benefits single parents who have to put
children to bed but can work in the evening afterwards.
There could be cost benefits in the form of reduced space
required (rent and utility bills) if you need less space by not requiring
everyone to be in every day all day. You
just need to have “hot-desking” capability for when people do need to be in.
You may be able to attract better quality staff if you're
not seen as a “traditional office hours” employer.
Businesses where non-traditional office hours work well, or
which can offer flexi-time or remote working arrangements are often those in which
RESULTS count, rather than how long you spend warming a seat.
Independent consultants can work with a laptop and phone as
they’re meant to be looking after client businesses. This keeps their overheads down.
CONS:
Humans are (mostly) social animals and won’t get the opportunity
to “bounce ideas” off others if they're not in the office. In creative industries or R&D where you
need another point of view, this can mean the difference between success and
failure.
Security could be an issue.
Accessing sensitive data over open networks may not be what you want if
you have strict data privacy regulations governing your business.
“Hot-desking” - a
great idea in theory - has major disadvantages if not done well. I saw this in
one of the UK’s banks where people literally didn't know where they were
sitting from one day to the next. They
might spend up to an hour finding somewhere - imagine the lost revenue from
time wasted looking for a desk!
Some work simply requires that people be on site during
“office hours” (e.g. production work, certain types of training).
SO…
What should you do?
If you’re wondering whether to review your office hour policies, think about
the following:
- What does your organisation do?
- How does it do it?
- What industry is it in (and what’s the “norm”)?
- Which outside parties does it interact with?
- When do you really need people around (face-to-face meetings, etc)?
- What can be done away from the office (telesales, setting up meetings, etc)?
- Who really needs to be around from 9-5?
- What must be done “on site” (e.g. checking inventory, manufacturing, client meetings)?
- What benefits you would want for the organisation, its people and the “bottom line” by adopting flexible office hours?
- What costs might be reduced?
You can either trust people to behave like responsible
adults, or you can set up controls to ensure that they’re not taking advantage
of your enlightened policies. These
might include:
- Requiring people to advise when they will be working remotely/flexibly;
- Checking when they sign into/out of the organisation’s servers;
- Monitoring email traffic;
- Setting out which activities can be done from home/remotely (e.g. report writing, preparing proposals) and evidence to show productivity;
- Setting out when people must be in the office;
- Banning remote/flexible working on certain days, e.g. Monday and Friday (to discourage “long weekenders”);
- Security rules;
- Penalties for abuse.
CONCLUSION:
Depending on the task and with the new breed of “knowledge
worker”, office hours may no longer be as relevant. If you're going to change, however, both
employee and organisation have to benefit.
Look at factors such as:
- Productivity
- Morale
- Retention rates/turnover
- Costs
- Rules
Even if costs stay the same, but you have noticeably higher
productivity, happier people and lower turnover, then you’ve won.
In sort, there may be times when “office hours” will
continue to be relevant, but equally there may be times when more flexibility
works. Why not try and see?
I have spent more than half my life delivering change in different world markets from the most developed to “emerging” economies. With more than 20 years in international financial services around the world running different operations and lending businesses, I started my own Consultancy to offer solutions for improving performance, productivity and risk management. I work with individuals, small businesses, charities, quoted companies and academic institutions across the world. An international speaker, trainer, author and fund-raiser, I can be contacted by email . My website provides a full picture of my portfolio of services. For strategic questions that you should be asking yourself, follow me at @wkm610.
posted by William Martin @ 08:48
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