Why do so many people experience burnout or change roles so often?
In September 2021 we experienced the largest number of employees ever quitting their jobs. People are ready for more and better options.
Hiring, onboarding and turnover are huge expenses...
What if you could keep good employees for decades?
The founder of Instagram, Kevin Synstrom, came up with the idea of starting the social-media platform while on vacation in Mexico. Drew Houston conceptualized the idea of Dropbox while on tour around the world. The next form of innovation for your company could be conjured up while your employee is relaxing on his or her vacation.[6]
Learn More
What else would be possible
We truely believe the people who have more time off will produce similar amounts of work as folks who are there full time. They will be refreshed and ready to produce. They will come back with fresh ideas and ways to innovate that would never be possible otherwise. We will measure simple metrics such as productivity and how the time off has improved their life, but we will also measure how many great ideas and breakthroughs came from these employees. We will measure how many of them work for the company for 10+ years to get their year sabbatical.
The Need
“Stressed-out employees want to make more time for their families and other relationships. They want more time for themselves—for personal development, personal interests, volunteering, exercise, reading—whatever enriches their lives. Ultimately, they want to have more control over their lives, which would lead to less distress.” (Carr, et al., 2003)
The Research
“Labor research over the last 30 years has come to one main conclusion: employees want choice in how, when, and where they work. Those choices include working from home, reduced or compressed work weeks, and increased time off.
“Labor research over the last 30 years has come to one main conclusion: employees want choice in how, when, and where they work. Those choices include working from home, reduced or compressed work weeks, and increased time off.
Some quick stats from the Bureau of Labor Statistics:
67% of workers with advanced degrees prefer some amount of work at home
31% of Americans work 50 hours a week or more
54% of Americans work 40-49 hours per week
This does not have to be the case! It may seem like the normal 40+ hour workweek is inevitable, but history proves otherwise. Within this century we have seen reductions in the work week, first to 48 and then to 40 hours - without apparent damages to production or productivity [4]. At one point, the notion of having Saturdays off seemed as far fetches as Fridays off seems to some today. And most notably, when Henry Ford first introduced the five day workweek, he did so without reducing employees’ pay!
Why should your company should offer one more of everything?
“Employees who work preferred number of hours, whether their preference is full time or reduced hours, will experience better quality of work, less burnout, and increased satisfaction [1]. In fact, reduced work hours can maintain or even improve job performance [2].
“Employees who work preferred number of hours, whether their preference is full time or reduced hours, will experience better quality of work, less burnout, and increased satisfaction [1]. In fact, reduced work hours can maintain or even improve job performance [2].
Offering flexible work hours will benefit your company through reducing turnover. Consider universities - notorious for low salaries, but they can still hire and retain brilliant scientists because they offer flexible work environments [2]. Once you are retaining your best employees, you will save costs for training and on-boarding new employees. Retention is a bargain compared to replacement.
For a case study, consider France and Germany reduced working hours from 40 to 35 hours per week. Each country expected to counteract the reduction in hours with productivity increases of one third to two thirds of reduction in hours. These estimates were observed and even surpassed in output and employment - Germany specifically saw an overall increase in productivity [4]!
In general, longer working hours, especially for repetitive or onerous tasks, results in diminishing returns [5].
How can your company build a culture to hire and retain the best employees?
“Most people want to work less hours, but there are career trade-offs associated with this. Companies need to build a culture that allows employees who choose to work reduced hours to still be successful and measure their success subjectively, not purely by hours worked [2].
“Most people want to work less hours, but there are career trade-offs associated with this. Companies need to build a culture that allows employees who choose to work reduced hours to still be successful and measure their success subjectively, not purely by hours worked [2].
There is a strong preference for employees to work less hours but there are significant obstacles to pursuing a career trajectory that includes less work hours. Those trade-offs can be serious enough that employees do not end up gaining quality of life benefits from reduced work hours. It is better for the employee to reduce onerous tasks than to just reduce total work hours, as to reduce trade-off costs [3].
One option for promoting flexible work hours without reducing overall company productivity, is the Finnish model. During the 1990s, a number of Finnish firms adopted a 2 x 6 hour shift system. This extended opening and operating hours and was rewarded by considerable productivity gains and increased employment. [4].
The References
“[1] Carr, Phyllis L., Karen C. Gareis, and Rosalind C. Barnett. "Characteristics and outcomes for women physicians who work reduced hours." Journal of Women's Health 12.4 (2003): 399-405.
“[1] Carr, Phyllis L., Karen C. Gareis, and Rosalind C. Barnett. "Characteristics and outcomes for women physicians who work reduced hours." Journal of Women's Health 12.4 (2003): 399-405.
[2] Barnett, Rosalind Chait, and Douglas T. Hall. "How to use reduced hours to win the war for talent." Organizational dynamics 29.3 (2001): 192-210.
[3] Barnett, Rosalind Chait, and Karen C. Gareis. "Reduced-hours employment: The relationship between difficulty of trade-offs and quality of life." Work and occupations 27.2 (2000): 168-187.
[4] Kallis, Giorgos, et al. "“Friday off”: reducing working hours in Europe." Sustainability 5.4 (2013): 1545-1567.
[5] Collewet, Marion, and Jan Sauermann. "Working hours and productivity." Labour economics 47 (2017): 96-106.
[6] Dr. Kira Graves. "3 Ways Employee Vacationing Increases a Company's Productivity" https://www.entrepreneur.com/growing-a-business/3-ways-employee-vacationing-increases-a-companys/413541 (2022)
Employees and Employers
Reach out to find out more!
0
Bronze Companies
0
Silver Companies
0
Gold Companies
1
Platnium Companies