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If anything, the COVID-19 pandemic has been a bit of a wake-up call.

Especially for the working world, where the classic Baby Boomer era of working nine-to-five just doesn’t cut it anymore.

Forbes writes that the “pandemic-induced, remote-work, year-and-a-half experiment” has proven that new ways of working and being productive, while also allowing people space and time to lead more fulfilling and balanced lives, can be successful.

This is alongside the biggest ever four-day workweek study that proves shorter working hours can lead to employees being more happy, healthy, and productive.

More than ever before, workers and management are seeing the benefits of a looser schedule and remote work, paving the way for these adjustments to be the norm in any given job.

We’ve all begged the question about why life on a hamster wheel is necessary:

Why is it necessary to work from 9AM to 5PM, five days a week, in a sterile cubicle farm with harsh fluorescent lights, little access to window views, sitting in uncomfortable chairs, poor ventilation and its either too hot or cold?

The standard accepted practices began in 1926, when Henry Ford, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, started the concept of a five-day, 40-hour workweek.

The concept basically made human robots out of the assembly line workers, who existed only to serve a company’s business needs.

A century in and things have changed dramatically – economically, socially, and technologically – so there is really no reason to be tethered to an office desk.

Besides complacency, that is.

But as mentioned before, the pandemic provided the “near-death experience” needed for us to wake up to our human needs and demand a better life.

While some are leaving their jobs in the “Great Resignation” wave and voting with their feet, others are figuring out that they work best when they can control their own schedule in a job that is progressive and smart enough to allow it:

Instead of the nine-to-five, it would make more sense for companies to ask their employees what type of schedules would work best for them.

Some may select to start the day later and stay a few extra hours, if needed. Others could request coming in early and leaving a little around 3PM or 4PM. Maybe taking a couple of half-days will help you recharge to do your best work.

A four-day workweek could do wonders for a person’s mental health. It won’t take too much work from management but would make the lives of workers significantly better.

If this is worrying, it should help that it has been proven that people work best when they have control over their schedules:

They are happier and can organise their days around their biorhythms, chores, home responsibilities and hobbies. It’s likely that they’ll actually spend more time working and their productivity will be enhanced.

As more and more Gen-Zs and Millennials move into the workforce, they’re keen to get rid of the outdated and toxic ways that left their parents burnt out.

The nine-to-five grind is no longer welcome, and old-fashioned, resistant-to-change bureaucratic companies won’t last unless some necessary changes are embraced.

Smart, progressive and forward-thinking companies will scuttle the 9-to-5 schedules, in a bid to attract job seekers.

The best and brightest will leave for a company that listens to them and makes their lives better and more well-rounded.

The stodgy corporations will lose their star employees. As the smartest people leave to join rivals, the old-fashioned, resistant-to-change bureaucratic companies will fall by the wayside.

Embrace the change.

Get off the hamster wheel, bosses, and get ahead of the game.

[source:forbes]