Workplace Flexibility
The article, How to Work More Hours and Still Go Home Early in Sunday's New York Times describes the increasing trend of employees to arrive at the office early, often hours before coworkers (and bosses). This "early-in" concept is an effort to finish all tasks and have the ability to make it home in time for bedtime stories with the kids. The lawyer profiled in this story is at work most days by 6 am to ensure that he can leave by 7 pm to spend time with his children. Ellen Galinsky, president of the Families and Work Institute in New York City, says that this trend is indicative of the change in the job force from baby boomers to Generation X & Y-ers. According to Ms. Galinsky those in Generation X & Y have values that center more around family than their baby boomer counter-parts.
The article mentions research that says people are rewarded for extra effort at work, usually for working "longer and later hours" as opposed to earlier. Personally, I believe that an employee coming in hours early should be valued/recognized just as highly as an employee burning the midnight oil. Advances in the flexibility of workplaces seems like a good thing to me. What do you think of the current system for recognition in many companies? Which strategy do you see yourself using to be most productive in the office, coming in early or staying late?
The article mentions research that says people are rewarded for extra effort at work, usually for working "longer and later hours" as opposed to earlier. Personally, I believe that an employee coming in hours early should be valued/recognized just as highly as an employee burning the midnight oil. Advances in the flexibility of workplaces seems like a good thing to me. What do you think of the current system for recognition in many companies? Which strategy do you see yourself using to be most productive in the office, coming in early or staying late?
posted by stevie at
12:03 AM
3 Comments:
Personally, I see no difference between arriving at work earlier as opposed to staying later in order to get more accomplished, as they seem to accomplish the same objective (getting more work done). So, in my opinion, I think it is unfair for employers to reward "late workers" and not those that arrive early.
The only time that I can see employers not regarding arriving early as equal to staying late is if the work the employee performs entails collaboration on a project or assignment with other employees who do not work on the same time schedule, as this could hurt its ultimate successs and limit the group's potential.
I agree with Valerie in that extra hours worked should be valued no matter what time of day they're made. I think it's also important to note (especially to those of us going to law school) that lawyers in particular work tremendous amounts of hours. At the law firm I worked at last summer, the attorneys I worked with punched in at 9 am and usually didn't leave until 9 pm, eating lunch at their desks. They also worked a half day on Saturday.
Interesting article. I agree with what Jenny and Justin have commented - hours should be valued no matter what time of day they are put in. The advice given by the article about making it known that you work early is good to note. Also, having a workforce comprised of both early workers and late workers could be an advantage to a company - giving employees who so desire a chance to work relatively distraction-free while possibly increasing customer response time (because there would be people available for consultation during more hours of the day).
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