The eight- hour workday is an ode to the industrial era, when no such hour restrictions existed and people, even children would often be forced to work long hours. Workers thus had to fight their way to get a forty – hour work week in place. Now digitization has changed all that. Work has become more cognitive rather than repetitive. Creative aspects would do better with a shorter work day of around six focused hours rather than eight unfocused ones. The best of business innovation and creative tasks take place when one gets into the psychological state of flow. A study conducted by Adobe made realize that employees pend a disproportionate amount of time each day checking emails. The levels of distraction in the modern workplace and the open- plan at most offices means that employees end up touching their smartphones more than a thousand times each day. Meetings often go on long, even though they could have been sorted through virtual chats. Long- distance travels and the badge of “inbox zero” mean that employees end up doing wasteful tasks. The right talent management practices must focus on the top priorities by applying the Pareto Principle of 80-20. Tasks that don’t add to value need be eliminated or reduced. Certain steps need to be automated. Instead of over analyzing, one ought to test. Delegation or outsourcing of tasks also needs to be incorporated.

Source:https://hbr.org/2018/12/the-case-for-the-6-hour-workday

Uploaded Date:28 December 2018