Dive Brief:
- For a very long time across cultures and companies, employee value has been judged in large part by how many hours a person logs in during the week. But a recent article at 1834 Magazine (part of The Economist), reports it finally may be dawning on employers globally that slowing down work and cutting hours may bring not only happier, healthier employees, but better business results.
- Robert Colvile, author of “The Great Acceleration: How the The World Is Getting Faster, Faster,” posits in the article that as an ex-"treadmill" type himself, he is convinced white collar workaholism has reached a tipping point – mainly due to technology's ubiquitous tentacles.
- He points to research across three continents that found if people work more than 55 hours weekly, their odds of a stroke increase by a third. Business-wise, he writes that as work weeks get longer, illness and poor concentration are sure to follow, meaning decreased innovation, productivity and profits.
Dive Insight:
In the article, Colville discusses several well-known business people who have changed their ways as of late. He cites Carl Honoré, author of “The Slow Fix” and “In Praise of Slow”, who advises employers on how to get better results by slowing down.
Honoré told Colville that employers actually must "save their employees from themselves," mentioning high-performing firms that are encouraging workers to take Saturdays off or are looking into shutting down email servers on weekends. Honoré mentions Daimler, which he claims actually deletes inbox messages while employees are on vacation.
How cutthroat cultures can refocus on their people has become a key point of discussion largely thanks to the influx of millennials who have higher expectations for work-life balance. Additionally, as wellness becomes more holistic, more employers are paying attention to the impact of workplace stress on mental and physical health. Improved wellness can bring back productivity and improve the bottom line.