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Should You Be Working More?

This article is more than 8 years old.

This summer, Jeb Bush set off a firestorm when he suggested that American workers needed to work more in order to stimulate the economy. This struck a particular nerve for those who have followed the issues surrounding burnout in the past several years – or dealt with it personally. Americans work more than anyone in the industrialized world, and take fewer vacations and retire later.

Instead of working more, organizations are increasingly encouraging people to work fewer hours but more efficiently. Companies are desperate to retain their top talent, and to do so in a way that keeps them on top of their game.

Some economic pundits even propose a whole new paradigm for working far less. Anna Coote, the head of social policy at New Economics Foundation, proposes a 21-hour work week, which she says will help to “address a range of urgent, interlinked problems: overwork, unemployment, over-consumption, high carbon emissions, low well-being, entrenched inequalities, and the lack of time to live sustainably, to care for each other, and simply to enjoy life.”

Few organizations are willing to go that far, but many are putting in place a host of programs and cultural changes to encourage a sustainable pace. Here’s what you can do if you want to jump on board with the cause.

Design work that can be completed during paid work hours.

According to a report from Staples Advantage, workers are chronically over-assigned work. A full quarter of respondents said that after they leave the office at night, they typically continue to do more work at home, while 40% admitted to putting in extra hours over the weekend at least once a month.

While working after hours occasionally doesn’t seem detrimental, these hours can add up to be a sizeable burden. Managers can set the tone to respect the time that workers spend away from the office – time that is necessary for them to relax and reboot.

Let people work how they work best.

There are numerous articles being published every day discussing the cultural shift to flexible work arrangements and work/life fit. For many companies, this has become an entrenched policy.

Studies have consistently shown that allowing employees to work from home or work nontraditional hours provides benefits for both employer and employee alike. In one Stanford University study, researchers analyzed the productivity levels of travel agency employees. Half of the employees worked from home for nine months, while the other half of the employees continued to work from the office.

The home workers’ productivity jumped 13%, which researchers attribute to the greater number of minutes employees worked during each shift (they took fewer breaks and sick days). Staff turnover dropped nearly 50% compared to the office workers, and home workers felt more work satisfaction and less work exhaustion.

Avoid the unnecessary.

Workers are inundated with meeting requests – many of them unnecessary. In The New York Times, Carson Tate, who runs a management consulting firm, argues that it’s all about placing more value on time: “Time is a commodity. And time spent in a meeting should generate a return on investment. But how often do we think about our time that way, and set expectations for meetings to produce real returns?”

Before calling a meeting, ask yourself, does this issue necessitate it, and require an in-person meeting? Could the issue be resolved via email instead? Can the meeting’s agenda be accomplished in half an hour rather than an hour?

And, Carson suggests, this “meeting revolution” can be fought from the employee’s side too: “Instead of automatically accepting that next meeting request, pause and consider your return on investment. Will this meeting help you in achieving your goals? How does the purpose of the meeting — and I’m crossing my fingers that there is a stated purpose — align with the company’s strategic priorities? Is attending this meeting the best use of your time right now? If not, revolt — by declining the meeting request.”

Encourage breaks, lunch, and better sleep habits.

People need regular breaks to refresh, recharge and sustain production. Yet, for many people, even a lunch break is a relic of the past. Instead, encourage workers to take a break when they need it, and to actually step away from their desks for lunch. As this article states, these are simple ways for workers to recover that nearly everyone can do.

Finally, anyone who has tried to work on too little sleep knows how quickly their work product declines. Healthy sleep habits are critical to maintaining an efficient workforce. According to Dr. Timothy Morgenthaler, president of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, sleep deprivation has some serious consequences for worker productivity: “Sleep loss adversely affects neurobehavioral function and leads to excessive daytime fatigue and sleepiness, which increases the risk of accidents caused by human error…Sleep problems are also associated with short and long-term sick leave, resulting in yet lower productivity and higher costs.”

Americans in particular have come to equate a lack of sleep with a badge of hardworking honor. Managers will do well to encourage true rest, and not expect workers to be checking emails late at night. In fact, if you really want a rejuvenated, energetic workforce, don’t answer any of your own emails after 7 PM.

Kristi Hedges is a leadership coach, speaker and author of The Power of Presence: Unlock Your Potential to Influence and Engage Others. She blogs at kristihedges.com.