Working Hours – tradition Vs everything else
I follow a few prominent bloggers – all male – who espouse the ideal of working just a few hours a week to earn a living.
For many people, in normal jobs, this simply isn’t an option. Women tend to end up in part-time jobs or seeking flexi-time positions and job shares to help them balance their work and home life. They juggle their need for money with their need to have and look after children. In general, for men and childless women (or women with older children) the norm is still seen to be 9-5, plus overtime if you’re really ‘driven’.
The overworked/workless dichotomy
In the midst of an employment and financial crisis the 9-5 job or career seems like a glittering ideal. Something many people would give their eye-teeth to get back into or feel guilty for not appreciating it if they have one. Those who have maintained these positions may feel pressured to offer more. Not only to mop up the extra work left by their redundant ex-colleagues but also to increase their personal value to the company and improve their job security.
Britain is famous for having the longest working hours in Europe. Internally, we are also aware of the ever rising number of freeloaders who are happy to live on benefits that other people work strenuously to provide. This is the other side of our coin. They are not the overworked, harassed people or the passionate workaholics who choose to stay late in the office. Neither are they the fantastical, almost mythical people who work for a fraction of the time but still generate an adequate income.
They are the people I can’t speak about without getting angry and I mention them only to offer a full spectrum of the work-life attitudes in Britain. I do not think their lifestyles contribute anything to a discussion of the working hours of the masses. Nor can they offer insight on the various benefits and problems associated with differing perspectives on work, as proposed by people who actually work.
Time as a commodity
Anyway, that’s enough of my mini-rant. You may have noticed that as well as despising the people who prefer to sponge off the state rather than work, I also have a slightly negative view of traditional 9-5 jobs.
Perhaps this view is unfair because it is based on personal experiences which I am certain are not shared by everyone. During the course of my life so far I have held six full-time 9-5 (or equivalent) positions and either hated or strongly disliked every single one. Not because I am workshy or lazy, but simply because I felt ill-suited to what I was doing. The worst aspect of most of these positions was the attitude my superiors held about acceptable work hours.
Overtime was expected, demanded, poorly paid or not paid at all. In one role, I worked an extra two hours every day in the office (because working from home was not permissible) and often came in on Saturdays and even Sundays. No one told me I had to, but I felt obliged to so that I could keep up with the enormous flow of paperwork. I was stressed, tired and miserable all the time – unhappy in my work but unable to see a viable alternative.
This need not always be a problem. If the company is well run and the employees feel valued then it is natural for people to commit extra hours, not as a matter of course, but to meet the occasional sharp deadline. If the employees feel valued and are passionate about their jobs, such a situation is unlikely to cause so much stress or resentment. I am aware of such a company, but (again in my personal experience) these places are a rarity.
Now I work as a freelancer and aspire to the kind of lifestyle where I can happily get by on only a few hours a week. I know this will not be easy and may even prove to be impossible. Neither is it something I would expect everyone to achieve, or even strive for. After all, some people are very passionate about their jobs and happy working 9-5s which is fabulous. But for those who are unhappy with this state of affairs yet unwilling to run their own business I would like to see a change. I aspire to see a change in society.
What needs to change
I would like to see more ‘good’ companies run by people who understand how to get the best out of others so that they don’t resent putting in those hours. That applies equally to companies who require 9-5, 9-6 or even 9-6 followed by 8-12 for their employees’ working hours.
I would like to see more companies balance the level of work with the level of people so that employees are not onerously obliged to work extra hours every day.
And while we’re at it – let’s get more companies. And make some of them manufacture things so that we don’t all work in Finances or Customer Service and so on…
But I digress. I have made my points.
How do you feel about working hours in Britain? Are you one of the lucky few who have found a good company to work for with a satisfying work/life balance?
Sebastian Johnsson 23 Apr 10
I can totally relate to what you’re saying about 9-5 jobs. I’ve never practically been employed (well, besides my own companies), but at one time I did a consulting gig for about 2 years for a major e-commerce company.
I worked 8am – 5pm, Monday to Friday, over, and over again. I could have days where I would be super creative and my 8 hours would just fly away, and I could have days (practically the majority of the days I worked there) where I would just sit and wait for my shift/day to end. And I can also relate to the whole over-time thing, I’ll never subject myself to that again! After working at this place I realized that the 9-5 system definitely wasn’t something for me.
I believe in working when you’re productive and when you’re in the mood for it. I also believe that you should be able to work in the environment you feel most comfortable in. If you’re working on a report (that does not require meetings and such) I highly believe you should be able to work on that report in the comfort of your home if you so desire. Happy employees are more productive.
Right now I’m working from home for an e-commerce startup I’m involved with. I get up when I feel like it, I work when I feel like it. Some days I’m super creative and I might work 10-12 hours, other days I just work 2-4 hours, if at all. I really, really love this setup.
Some people like flexible schedules, some people are better off with a rigid schedule. I just feel that more people should be given the choice to find ‘their’ way of working, being it from home or in an office, flexible hours, or 9-5.
Just my $0.02