Working long or excessive hours creates an imbalance, leaving employees exhausted and stressed – a state of affairs that simply isn’t viable over time. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Soojung-Kim Pang shows us how: a reduction in our working time combined with personal discipline means we can work fewer hours but still be more efficient and creative… and feel better about ourselves.
Shortening the working week to boost performance is counter-intuitive: it is contrary to professional norms and the demands made by society. But it works! Companies across all industries are now taking the plunge… and have no desire to backtrack. Explore this new trend that is making work more sustainable, enhancing performance and restoring the work / life balance.
Based on
Shorter: Work Better, Smarter, and Less―Here’s How by Alex Soojung-Kim Pang, PublicAffairs 2020
1. Change paradigm
A century ago, the philosopher Bertrand Russell and the economist John Maynard Keynes declared that in the year 2000 men would work 3 hours a day as a result of gains in productivity.
How wrong they were. The emergence of mass consumption during the 30-year post-war boom period – followed by a decline in job security in the 1970s – forced workers to spend more time in the office. And we’ve paid a heavy human price in wasted potential, depression, chronic illness and burnout, not to mention a drop in creativity. For business, it has led to below-par performance.
Marianne graduated from HEC in 1998 and is now a freelance journalist specializing in management and higher education. What really fires her up is the human dimension and she is c taking a psychology course at Rennes 2 University.
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