When a tech consultancy boss realised his work hours were preventing him from having quality time with his daughters, he decided to trial shorter working hours for himself and his employees — moving from 8-hour to 5-hour days [$]. It worked well for a while, with no loss of productivity, but then he decided to shift back to longer hours, because: “Everyone’s outside life got so much better, at the expense of their passion for the work.” Of course, it didn’t occur to him to consider whether the harsh new working conditions he imposed might be making work life miserable: “small talk during work hours is discouraged. Social media is banned. Phones are kept in backpacks.” Perhaps the lessons to be drawn here are that shorter work hours significantly improve people’s lives, while dehumanising restrictions in the workplace reduce people’s passion for their work…
25 October 2019