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Did people ever work 9 to 5?

The modern 9-to-5, eight-hour workday was invented by American labor unions in the 1800s and went mainstream by Henry Ford in the 1920s. Workers today are still prepared to accept the same shifts because we have become so accustomed to it.

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How often do your friends, family, and colleagues speak fondly about working a 9-to-5 shift? Probably never, right?

It may be time to rethink the mainstream timetable that makes so many of us miserable. In fact, the traditional 9-to-5 schedule may already be on its way out, as a new UK government study has revealed. According to the research, only 6% of workers in the UK adhere to such hours, while nearly half the population apparently works flexibly, incorporating job sharing or compressed hours into their shifts.

Yet, the interest in flexible working hours is hardly unique to Brits.

Consider that although the majority of Americans say they are generally satisfied with their jobs, it hardly seems that way. Think of all the negative phrases we use to refer to our daily schedules, from “the daily grind” to “the afternoon slump.” Or the way we talk about the work week itself? “Everybody hates Mondays,” “Wednesday hump day,” “thank God it’s Friday…” As employees become increasingly frustrated with the traditional rota, we’re realizing this antiquated system can be re-imagined. And it probably should be. The modern 9-to-5, eight-hour workday was invented by American labor unions in the 1800s and went mainstream by Henry Ford in the 1920s. Workers today are still prepared to accept the same shifts because we have become so accustomed to it. With every aspect of our working lives having changed since then – from our work culture to the way we organize our work-life balance – it may finally be time for a change.

The millennial influence

As millennials take over America’s workforce, companies are increasingly offering perks that will appeal to them. And flexible working hoursOpens a new window is among the top features that millennials look for. Indeed, millennials are a driving force behind the push to reimagine work schedules. Consider that the 2016 Deloitte’s Millennial Survey found that two-thirds of millennials expected to quit their jobs by 2020, with two of the main factors “dissatisfaction with work-life balance” and the “desire for flexibility.” Moreover, various studies find that not only do seven-in-ten millennials want flexible work options, but three-quarters prefer jobs with that option and 77% say they would be more productive as a result. In fact, employers can provide this with flexible, part-time or alternative schedules – even allowing certain telecommuting libertiesOpens a new window .

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It’s about flexibility…

Crucially, this demand to update weekly schedules is about having more time for other commitments and responsibilities, not cutting hours. That same cultural expectation for increased flexibility has also led the search for employers offering a four-day workweek.Opens a new window The argument isn’t to decrease working hours, though. Rather, it’s to give people more flexibility in exchange for productivity. Many employers and employees argue, in fact, that working less would be detrimental. France, for instance, cut the national working hours in 2000 from 39 hours per week to 35. The results, though, have been mixed, with the effectiveness regularly under assault. The new law has not created more jobs – while influencing cultural changes that suggest many people are less happy now. France’s experiment highlights an issue with how modern culture measures productivity: It’s all about time, the key metric for judging productivity because it’s easy to measure. In reality, though, it’s a vanity metric. Consider that myriad studies conducted by businesses, industry associations and academic institutions have found that on average people don’t actually get more work done on a 10-hour shift than in eight hours. In fact, every hour of work beyond 40 per week leads to less productive and less effective output in both the short and long-term.

…and work culture

Ultimately, the debate isn’t just about dumping 9-to-5, but more specifically about changing work culture to offer the flexibility demanded by the modern American workforce. Meanwhile, technological advances, particularly digitally, have been a game-changer. Being in the office and being productive are no longer mutually inclusive. It’s now far easier to work from anywhere, and considering the vast majority of millennials are attached to their cell phones or laptops, they’re gravitating towards jobs that offer remote employment options – 43% of American employees say they occasionally work from home. Together, these changes are triggering a mainstream move away from the hours of old and into the future, where work schedules are flexible and adaptable.

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