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Future-thinking businesses must trust employees to manage their own workload and abandon presenteeism.
Future-thinking businesses must trust employees to manage their own workload and abandon presenteeism. Photograph: Hero Images
Future-thinking businesses must trust employees to manage their own workload and abandon presenteeism. Photograph: Hero Images

Goodbye nine to five, hello work-life balance

This article is more than 8 years old

Employees want flexibility and freedom from outdated work practices. For this to happen, organisations must empathise with the individual behind the output

So many of our current working patterns are hugely outdated. The idea of “nine to five” was conceived during the industrial revolution, prior to the invention of electricity, never mind the internet. Our culture of presenteeism was born out of conformity, rather than evolving working patterns into what we truly need, both in terms of motivation and productivity.

Large organisations embrace a fixed regime of regimented hours and a single office space because it enables them to retain control over their workforce. Big businesses that allow employees to work from home on Wednesdays, leave early on a Friday, or work a four-day week are not offering true flexibility, they are merely extending the leash. But the tide is turning: people are now taking the matter of work-life balance into their own hands. One in seven workers in the UK has chosen self-employment as the most effective means to take control.

Running a business that champions a new style of working, I am frequently asked to define “the future of work”. While there are many different answers, I firmly believe that one thing will define the high-achieving individuals and organisations in the future: empathy.

In order for an employee to feel connected to and motivated bytheir employer, mutual understanding is crucial. This requires the employer to truly empathise with the person behind the employee, and appreciate the richness and complexity of their lives outside of work. Failure to do so may encourage the employee to seek out a more “caring” work environment, or follow the growing trend towards self-employment.

Anyone who has led a team or simply been part of a working group, knows it’s more productive and more enjoyable to work with highly motivated and enthusiastic individuals. I can’t speak for others, but when everything in my life is well balanced, I am able truly to enjoy what I do, uninhibited by guilt or any other barrier that may get in the way.

Rapid developments in technology and the prevalence of Wi-Fi mean we have reached a tipping point where we can work far more flexibly. The future of work is flexible, and the only way to embrace flexibility is to trust those who work with you and to be genuinely empathetic about their circumstances.

As companies increasingly buy in specialist resource for the task in hand rather than adding fixed overheads through full-time staff, the decentralisation of the workforce is a growing trend. I believe in a decentralised future, and my focus is on building a community of talented and ambitious individuals who create their own work styles. They work remotely towards shared outputs but are connected through trust, mutual respect and empathy to create the very highest quality of work. They are motivated by the freedom to deliver work on their terms and are redefining the rules for the next generation of workers.

In the new world, businesses, clients and employers will simply care about finding the best person for the job. Trust and respect will be cornerstones, and as operating in virtual teams becomes commonplace, everyone will come to care about output more than input.

Presenteeism will be a thing of the past. We will respect each other’s lives, children, hobbies, travel, health, elderly parents, or simply personal preferences, and in doing so empathise with the individuals behind the output. We will look back at the world in 2015 and wonder why on earth it took us so long.

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