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Exploring the Five Hour Work Day

In a previous post, we explored the notion of the Four Day Work Week. But recently, we’ve been reading up on a similar phenomenon known as the Five Hour Work Day.

It all started with this Fast Company article about Stephan Aarstol, CEO of Tower, a beach lifestyle company. Aarstol made a shift not only in the amount of hours employees worked per day, but also in how they were compensated. The results? Over 40% higher revenue annually.

So how did he do it? And is this something every company can implement effectively?

five hour work day

Execute carefully

Aarstol knew that this shift wasn’t something he could enforce overnight. He started by introducing the idea of “summer hours”. By making the change temporary, he put himself in the position to be able to switch things back around if the hours didn’t work out or hurt productivity. Lucky for him (and his employees), productivity soared and the 8-1 work day is now permanent.

Explain the whys

For Aarstol, the key to the success of the Five Hour Work Day was having a clear mission behind the change. He not only switched the hours, but also the compensation structure by offering employees a 5% profit share. By doing so, he enforced the importance of productivity, not just presence. He asked more of his employees in a shorter amount of time knowing that the rewards would be greater. He also knew this lifestyle might not serve everyone, and was therefore prepared to lose employees that might not fit into this new way of work. By keeping his mission at the forefront of the change, he was able to not only increase profits, but also increase compensation for his employees. Talk about a win-win.

Explore the change

While you may not work for a beach lifestyle brand, the Five Hour Work Day doesn’t have to be a far-off reality for all of us.

But how can we make the switch?

  • Start at the top: Most managers think that employees who show the most “face-time” are also the most dependable. Make sure your management is rewarding and recognizing employees based on their output, not their time-clock.
  • Provide concrete goals: Again, make it very clear why you’re making the switch and how you’re measuring productivity. Put measurable goals in place so employees know exactly what’s expected of them.
  • Be flexible: Aarstol knew that this change would be difficult during certain busy seasons. He gave employees the freedom to leave after 1pm, understanding that special projects may require more time and attention. However, making this adjustment meant that 12 hour days became the exception, not the norm.

Could the Five Hour Work Day work for you? What hesitations would you have for implementing this change?

The Gig Economy and HR

gig economy and hr

The gig economy is defined by Google as “a labor market characterized by the prevalence of short-term contracts or freelance work as opposed to permanent jobs.” From Lyft to Amazon, an increase in the number of freelance and contract workers adds new challenges for talent management and it’s vital that HR remains agile in response.  In fact, Adobe’s 2016 “Future of Work” report stated that one in three office workers has more than one job.

With the growing gig economy, here are a few ways Human Resources can respond to the challenges of a growing industry:

Increased Emphasis on Technology

As more workers work remotely, technology has become increasingly valuable to HR experts. From sourcing workers for a job to providing feedback to virtual reality tools for team collaboration, there are countless ways human resources professionals are relying on technology to respond to the needs of their freelance and remote workers. HR’s agility and independence from traditional tools will make all the difference in engaging this new workforce.

Increased Engagement Challenges

Distance makes the heart grow fonder, right? In the case of remote workers, this might not always be true. Engaging employees in their cars, homes, or other locations has proven to be much more challenging than HR anticipated. Agility expert, Nick Horney, says “that HR leaders should think about their workforce more broadly, using a “talent portfolio” that includes traditional and nontraditional employees.” Be cautious of “out of sight, out of mind” syndrome, and continue to focus on the whole of your talent, not just the employees you see on a daily basis.

Increased Evaluation Needs

Along with engagement is also the need for continuous feedback. Gone are the days where an annual performance review was enough. Revamp your performance reviews to fit with your workforce. Again, consider different technologies that can make this process easier. By providing continuous reports on performance and also asking great questions, HR can help these workers feel more engaged, valued and informed whether they’ve been part of the company for a month, a year or a decade.

What are some challenges you’ve faced with a mixed workforce? How are you responding to the gig economy?

Inside #EqualPayDay

equal pay day

Today is Equal Pay Day, which symbolizes how far into the year women would need to work in order to make the same amount as men the previous year. In 2017, that date is April 4th, meaning women would have to work 15 months to make the same as men did in 2016, just 12 months.

 

Women have been fighting for equal rights for a long time, but these statistics show that the fight is not over. Unfortunately, the wage gap still exists for many women in the workplace.

The Facts:

  • Women on average lose out on over $400,000 over the course of a 40 year career. 1
  • One in eight women are poor. If they were paid the same as men, poverty would drop from 8.2 to 4.0 percent.2
  • Men are 85% more likely than women to be VPs or C-Suite Executives by mid-career. 3
  • There are four states (Alaska, Delaware, Michigan and Washington) in which the most relatively common job for men has a median income of over $100,000. There are no states in which the most relatively common job for women exceeds $77,000.4

 

While the problem often seems overwhelming, there are companies who are taking a stand.

The Problem-Solvers:

  • PricewaterhouseCoopers, a tax and financial services firm, went public with their gender pay gap. After all, admission is the first step to recovery.5
  • In 2015, Salesforce performed a comprehensive analysis of 17,000 employees that led to salary adjustments for 6 percent of their workforce. The result? A 33 percent increase in the number of women who were promoted that year.6
  • More women, like Jennifer Lawrence and Emma Watson, are taking a stand and demanding raises.7

 

It won’t be an easy battle. For women, it starts with doing your research and fighting for what you deserve. But men aren’t exempt. There are plenty of ways to get involved and be a catalyst for changing the way we view compensation in the workplace.  One step at a time, we are excited to see people taking a stand and making leaps towards closing the gender wage gap.