Still Working Nine to Five? Why?
Rethinking the Traditional Work Day
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| Darryl Ohrt | |
Entrepreneurs, senior executives and serious career employees have known for a long time that the "work day" is all day -- and all night. (And if you're doing what you love, it isn't work at all.) Meanwhile, the tools that we have been afforded have allowed the boundaries between work and play to become effortlessly intertwined.
We bring our personal lives into the workplace and our work into our personal lives thanks to smart phones, internet everywhere and teams spread across time zones. At our agency, we openly encourage employees to spend time on Facebook, Twitter and other personal social networks while at work, and they're answering emails from home at night. This is the workplace of 2009.
So if we're all working at all hours, and playing at all hours, why do most firms still maintain an office schedule around nine to five?
What if employees were required to be at the office from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., but the rest of the schedule was left to their personal preference? Meetings could be scheduled, clients could make contact and collaborations could continue to flourish during the core part of the day. But otherwise, morning people could be morning people, and night owls could be night owls. A morning person might come in at 8 a.m. and leave at 5 p.m. A late sleeper might come in at 10 a.m. and leave at 7 p.m.
Executives and senior creatives are already working with open schedules, as management trusts that employees at this level have dedicated themselves to a career, and are going to work day and night anyway. Freelancers and independents also enjoy a schedule of their choosing. Naturally, some agencies require a 12-hour work day for all employees, and can't even enter the discussion.
But what about the average knowledge worker? The people that fill your agency not because it's their calling, but because it's the job they love. The people without the fancy offices or fat salaries. Fixed schedules seem to be kept for clients (a good idea) and for fear or distrust of employees (a bad idea). Management wants to avoid the potential predicament of "awesome ... I'll only work 3 hours a day," and embraces the structure of a fixed schedule as a safety net instead.
Do these employees really need that structure anymore? How would they perform in a flexible-schedule environment? They're already more connected to the workplace than any employees in modern history. If they're needed, bosses, clients and friends know how to get to them, fast. Couldn't we relax our schedules a bit for all employees.
We're about to find out.
This won't work for all firms, or all positions (a receptionist comes to mind), but we're curious to see how it works in the small agency environment. So curious, that we're considering giving it a try.
What about your agency? Do you require employees to keep to a schedule? Is it 9-to-5ish? Could you be more flexible?
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I think this post parallels those words. When I first started my job, I asked my boss—what time should I get to work? About what time do we leave? And he did give me some exact times, but I soon learned/realized that our pay is not determined by punching a time clock, but rather by performance. My belief (what another professional said to me) is that... if you don't have anything else to do, if you've done all you need to, if the phones aren't ringing (who really calls after 5?), then just leave.
This day in age we are constantly running around. We are human doings... let's get back to living life as human beings.
Great post. Thanks.
p.s. did you know the avg. worker in europe gets something like 13 weeks vacation/year? Not sure that we will ever get to that point, but I'm just saying...
www.scoutbrand.com
What I have found is that believe it or not... people are more productive and more creative!
Let's face it, most creative type of people are not morning people so giving them that flexibility really helps in the creativity one can generate.
This article by Darryl Ohrt makes a lot of good points, but here are a few caveats I've learned over my many years in account management and new business development for anyone considering flex-time either individually or collectively. In no exact order, they are:
1) The Client - The client pays your salary and benefits, the agency's rent, your childrens' college educations, etc. So whatever it takes to keep them happy, it must be done whenever, wherever, and however.
2) Geography - If you're a NYC-based agency and your assigned to East Coast client accounts, when in Rome, do as the Romans. Adjust your office schedule accordingly for other time zones – especially for domestic West Coast (and international) clients.
3) Job Description – If you're responsible in any way for servicing multiple accounts, across many time zones, you'd better be in the office at least between 9-5. If you're assigned to just one huge client, adjust your clocks accordingly and appreciate your good fortune regarding the predictability of everything.
4) Agency Associates - Whatever your ideal personal office hours might be, they're not going to be the same as that of somebody else within the agency depending on you to get their job done. If you hold their progress up, you stop the whole show!
5) Agency Top Management - If the agency CEO, president, group head, or whomever has a question or "situation" for you, you'd better be around (or accessible) to answer it or deal with it in real time. If not, they're screwed, which means you're screwed.
6) Virtual Office - Whether as part of your flex-time schedule, the result of sudden illness, or because of an off-site personal matter that must be attended to, if you say you're working from home or elsewhere, you'd better show up with "the goods" in your bag the next day.
7) Eating - Ending on a more "fun" note, I thought I'd mention this. Whatever your actual office hours are, eat on your own time! I don't know when agencies became restaurants (I guess around 2000), but it seems pervasive in all ranks, at all agencies today. Add up the total daily discussion about what to "order in", or time actually spent traveling to and eating in a retail food venue of any kind, and I'll bet we're talking about at least two hours in a day between bagels, breakfast and lunch. Senior execs may add client dinners to the food fest, but at least that's on their own time after hours (generally getting home at midnight).
The list goes on, but you get my point. Flex-time is a mixed blessing that can make or break you, your
"The list goes on, but you get my point. Flex-time is a mixed blessing that can make or break you, your agency, and your client. So be advised.
My steadfast advice to my daughters has always been that money follows success. And success, in anything, follows very hard work, 24/7/365!
Bill Crandall at bcrandallnyc@aol.com"
The industrial age was fun from what I've heard about it. Now that it's over, why stop at 10 to 4?
www.JetAtomic.com
You must not have much contact with your client(s) to pose such a question. Spend a full day at one sometime. Stand near the front door starting around 6 AM, and don't leave until the last important marketing person has left the building.
That should answer your question as to why "10 to 4" won't work.
The Age Discrimination in the ad business has many people that have some grey hair on their heads
spending time looking for hair dye, so we could get past HR if we are lucky enough to get an interview.
Jay Leno/Tonight Show -- gone
A golf marketer -- leisure dollars, dwindling
A mechanical contractor -- won't EVEN take my calls!
Talk about flexible time!
Tom Sacco
Left Field Enterprises, Ltd.
Des Moines, IA
(515) 277-3127
"The best ideas come out of Left Field!"
And Marc is right, age discrimination is a real problem. In creative work, there is a belief that fresh. new faces are what clients want because they are zippy, happy, and 'edgy'. I'm a youthful 48, play in a band, and have a unique & compelling resume, but I don't get any calls, either. A sign of the times as much as my age. How will we fix this?
Great performers have always enjoyed more flexible schedules - as they should to an almost unlimited extent.
But for every few average workers who benefits from a flexible schedule, there is the worker who is less productive, less involved, and generally harder to find.
In the end, it's easier to loosen the reins on the good horses than to round up the strays.
That's my work schedule. I suspect it matches a lot of of other writers these days.
I will say that those agency owners who demand "face time" in the office are idiots.
I get more good work done at home than I ever do attending endless, meaningless meetings.
It's also a case of accessibility. Agencies need to build in systems so that work and work status can be viewed at all times and employees/contractors can be reached easily with client questions/concerns.
Toni Antonetti, www.prchicago.com
http://dearadvertisin.blogspot.com/
As a boss setting the tone from day one on the flexibility that any employee was given, and the expectations on them actually doing their job with passion about it was primordial. Some took advantage of the flexibility, yet the trend showed that attitude came from those that never really wanted to be there in the first place!
In summary; hire the people that show passion to be all they can be!
They might not have 100% of the skill set required, yet they will fly past the ones that albeit have the skill set don't have passion! www.headsupispy.com
First, it should be noted that "office hours" have been an ongoing battle since the 1960s.
Agencies are in the service business. We must adapt to customers. If – and this is not uncommon – the client's culture is to be in the office by 7:00 a.m., then you'd better have a key contact by the phone or checking his or her email at 7:00 a.m. And if the agency contact needs to consult creative, media,or whatever – you'd better have a system in place to answer the question or deal with "the issue du jour."
Simple question: How many times have you changed "suppliers" – drug store, convenience store (that used to be open to 11:00 p.m. and suddenly starts closing at 9:00), cleaners, pizza delivery, office supplies, etc., because their service policies didn't fit your schedule?
We can huff and puff about our own importance – "the damn client should understand that . . ."
Yet – there are other agencies with arguably comparable abilities – that will gladly conform to the client's "culture" in order win the business.
The final question: Who are you going to fire when the account goes bye bye.
Juan Mansfield
However, I also had the ability to cut out during lunch when we weren't busy, or leave at 3:00, or come in late. My boss ensured by her own words and deeds that I too was fully accountable for my time and to this day, nearly 25 years later, I still approach my work in the same way.
We have it pretty good in this industry, with lots of flexibility relative to other professions. But with that flexibility comes responsibility.
I have no doubt we may have to review all of this when we grow and new talent and personalities enter the mix, but for now - there's not a worry about how we are working today.
Gayle Fluster, AlphaBuzz, Inc.
@GayleFluster
Once the trend of freelancing and consulting starts to catch on more and more, it will allow us to focus on the talent. Companies will begin to see that paying their staff for their time instead of their work is a waste of money (many companies already know this).
While this will undoubtedly lead to better work, it will move away from job security (now an old concept). For the talented & driven ones, this won't be a big deal. In fact, it will lead them to higher paying projects. Unfortunately everyone else will have to really evaluate their work, and even their profession.
Danielle Edberg
@edburger
www.danielleedberg.com
Clearly, flexible schedules aren't for every firm, or every employee. My point was (as Danelle Edberg accurately points out) that the workplace has ALREADY changed. Regardless of whether you're at a desk or not - we're always "on," so why not take that to the next step and acknowledge it?
Several people pointed to the fact that success with flexible schedules depends on employees. I agree, and that's probably the reason it's more likely to succeed in a small agency versus a larger environment. No matter how great the agency, it's just not reasonable to expect "passion" from 600 employees. But 10? Absolutely.
I'm inspired by those of you who have indicated that you're already doing this. Successfully. And equally thrilled that the points the naysayers have brought up are the same issues that we're discussing internally.
That said - we're going to give this a shot at our agency. Once we're off this "summer schedule." ;) I'll let you know how it goes.
Thanks again,
Darryl Ohrt
Plaid
I mean, really. Answer the phone whenever the client calls? PowerPoint slides at 2 am? In the office as early as the first client and stay until "the last important marketing person" leaves?
I have been fortunate enough to work on both the client and the agency side of things, and in my nevertheless limited experience I have noticed:
* Client-side marketers, even senior managers, rarely expect peers or subordinates to be able to drop everything and return their call/email/etc. in seconds or minutes. They understand that you, like they, have meetings, deadlines and other priorities. Prioritize the priorities and make sure everyone feels heard, taken care of and respected--that's what the superstars do. Not brown-nosing.
* Marketers which afford their agencies this same level of respect have agencies that provide peer-level expertise and will truly bend over backwards for them (as long as it is not an every-day thing). Marketers who want service with a smile in 15 seconds get a "Do you want fries with that shake?" approach, not a partner.
* Contrary to every fire-and-brimstone speech I've ever heard from an agency principle or manager, agencies that try and fix every client's hangnail in record time, 24/7 do not seem to end up with better clients, better projects, better budgets or more success of any kind. They end up with clients who expect to be able to kick their dog and have them come back begging for more. Funny, that.
* Lots of agencies talk about being partners with their clients. The ones who mean it are the ones that don't let themselves be treated like the hired help.
Finally, I also have to say that we here in the States are far to enamored with the workaholic, success only comes from working 24/7, the best work comes from those who don't do anything but mythology. Plus, the Project Manager in me says, if you can't get it done, and done well (I mean, hit it out of the park well), without intruding into nights and weekends, then you blew the scope, budget or schedule and probably all three!
Jay Cosnett
Emerge Interactive
www.emergeinteractive.com
(But my opinions are my own--no one else will have them!)