A small revolution has been taking place since the 2020-2022 health crisis: even the most assiduous employees (who technically can) no longer want to go back to the office every day, and Fridays are becoming a ‘no’ day. So, what’s going on in the working environment and why is the four-day week becoming so fashionable, at least for employees?
The pandemic has completely turned the codes of the workplace and the notion of face-to-face work upside down. What seemed impossible to many employers and employees first became an obligation with the pandemic, then a trial run that finally turned into a situation and common practice.
The health crisis forced companies and their teams to reinvent themselves, to find palliatives, to be creative and above all to invest massively in technology to enable remote working.
Once the first step had been taken, with varying degrees of success, it became obvious (once the ‘normal’ situation had been re-established) that the right questions had to be asked. If we add generational change and questions about the environment, we have the perfect cocktail for reducing the number of people in the office! All that remains is to find a modus operandi that is compatible with professional and personal demands.
Many companies have found a middle way, allowing remote working 1-2 days a week, but some are finding it more difficult, rarely for technical reasons, but much more because of cultural barriers or dysfunctional management.
Some observations or measures for these changes:
• Efficiency and productivity are potentially increased when staff can organise themselves more freely.
• Management needs to change mode and act more as an incentive, a moderator, a coordinator, and a rallying force. It also means losing some of the control…
• Staff appreciate face-to-face meetings and the community on one condition: that they are rewarding, useful and benevolent: coming into the office to show off, writing emails in your own corner in a tense environment, is no longer the stuff of dreams…
• Staff are realising that whether they are present no longer makes much difference to the “boss-employee” relationship, with the former realising that productivity cannot be measured by the number of people in the office, or the number of hours worked.
• Staff should be allowed to get away on Fridays if the results are there and efficiency for the rest of the week is good, or even better.
There are, however, some losers in this ‘concept’:
• Young people entering the world of work who need to be able to learn “by copying”, evaluating, observing, and being observed. • People whose home environment for carrying out tasks is not suitable due to lack of space or efficient spaces, etc.
• Public transport, service providers and restaurants seeing lower volumes on weekdays and even lower volumes on Fridays.
There is certainly no single “right” solution, but everyone should be able to find something to their liking, both the company and the staff, by developing an appropriate culture and processes. This ‘modularity’ does, however, come at a cost: that of management, which must reinvent itself, but it should be bearable.
Good thoughts, happy weeks and see you soon.