Work smart not hard

Chris Bryce

Chris Bryce looks at how, in just a number of years, flexible working has influenced the way we now approach work in the UK.

For years teachers, tutors and mentors have ingrained into young people that working long and unsociable hours is something they must accept if they want to get anywhere in their careers.

It’s part of the culture of how we work in this country. Sacrifice is expected and what’s more, they should be grateful of the opportunity to destroy their work/life balance while they’re at it.

Everywhere we look, we are bombarded with the idea that the competitive nature of business – never mind the jobs market – means that extra hours are in order for anyone who wants to climb the career ladder. In fact, the way we approach work has changed in recent years to mean that our ‘job’ and our ‘life’ aren’t as distinct as they once were. People no longer ‘do’ a job, they ‘are’ what they do. How we earn our money now defines us in a way it never did 50 years ago.

But I have noticed a change afoot. In some quarters, there is a growing acceptance that we don’t have to love what we do so much that we want to live, eat, breathe and even sleep it. The fight back against the 24-hour working day may finally have started.

Across the continent, things are starting to change. Whispers from Sweden, Germany and France hint that these countries might just be on the cusp of entering a new dawn for the way we approach work. Sweden, long known for its innovative approach to working practices, is trialling the six-hour working day for all public sector employees in the city of Gothenburg. The idea works off the premise that working shorter hours will breed a healthier, happier, cheaper – not to mention more productive – workforce.

Germany isn’t far behind and employment minister Andrea Nahles is considering placing an ‘anti-stress’ legislation, banning companies from getting in touch with employees after hours – if only! But interestingly France, under new economy minister Emmanuel Macron’s guidance is set to review its rather rigid 35-hour working week, meaning the French might well end up working more hours.

A more balanced approach to work and life might still be a distant dream for the UK but the idea that the amount of time spent in the office plays a part in determining what makes a good employee does seem to be under scrutiny. Of course, there will always be times when a slog into the evening is all that will get the job done, but in general, working smarter and not necessarily longer is becoming accepted practice.

While there’s no definitive evidence out there to prove that working shorter hours boosts productivity, nothing exists to suggest that working longer hours is more beneficial. A study carried out by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) revealed that the average Greek person works a massive 40% longer than the average German – and just take a look at their contrasting economies.

So where does that leave the self-employed among us? The simple fact is, for someone running their own business, there is a hell of a lot to do and it’s difficult to switch off. For most, working a six-hour day just isn’t possible.

The growing number of self-employed people in the UK are currently playing a fundamental part in the evolution of how we all approach work. For example, they were pioneers of flexible working – something that the majority of large companies are now rolling out across the board to their permanent employees.

Whether or not independent professionals can be quite as pioneering when it comes to creating a ‘work smart not hard’ culture remains to be seen, but it is clearly an idea worth bearing in mind for anyone who regularly finds themselves still at their desk in the early hours of the morning.

Chris Bryce is CEO of IPSE – the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed.