Sometimes I look at the world and I wonder why we seem so resistant to changing certain things. In fact, I would like to call out one of those “things” today, and that is work time. Before I begin, I understand that there many exceptions to what I will talk about – hospitals, police stations, firefighters, and many others have to be staffed at certain times of the day to make sure there is always coverage. However, what I want to talk about are those jobs where having 24-7 coverage is not necessary.
A lot of business jobs would fit into this category I think. Why do we all seem to think that most people need to work 9 to 5 (or 8 to 5 with a lunch or whatever) Monday through Friday? Does the particular times really matter as long as the work gets done? What if someone wants to do other things during the day and work in the evening or on weekends? What if someone is a “night owl” and is more efficient and productive at night? Why can’t we be more flexible with both our work and our non-work time? We should also consider more variety and how many hours actually need to be put in every week. Does it always have to be the same? As you can see, there are many ways to look at changing work time for the better.
Luckily, there are people that are challenging this same time, same day routine. My hope is that this message continues to grow and we start seeing more flexibility in our lives. After all, real life does not just follow a 9 to 5 schedule – illness happens, cars break down, traffic can create delays, kids have unexpected needs during the day – these occur frequently, and we need a better way to adapt to and manage it all.