Mike Gunderloy from WebWorkerDaily recently wrote an article entitled “Stalking the Ideal Workweek”, about how the regular 40-hour workweek has changed dramatically over the past few years. Although the article is aimed at independent teleworkers, this is also a trend that is becoming more and more visible in both corporate and government offices.

Utah was the first US state to adopt a four-day workweek, citing energy costs as the driving force behind the switch. However, there were additional benefits to this decision:

Researchers Rex Facer and Lori Wadsworth of BYU’s Romney Institute of Public Management analysed the potential benefits of Utah government’s 4-day work week transition and found that the employees were satisfied with their jobs, and enhanced productivity.

They found that even though four day work week employees work the same number of hours per week as their traditional work-week counterparts, they reported being more satisfied with their jobs, compensation, and benefits, and were less likely to look for employment elsewhere in the next year.
Source: IndiaTimes.com

The state of Maine has a more flexible program that they’re currently testing on their Department of Administrative and Financial Services. Instead of just a four-day workweek, they’re experimenting on what type of work schedule is best for both the employees and the people they serve. Some of the options they’ve explored are flexible work time, telecommuting, and compressed schedules. The state government is currently monitoring these efforts closely to see which can be adapted to other departments as well.

Apart from shifting around blocks of time, work environments themselves are changing. The concept of ROWE or “results-only work environment” is something that’s gaining a bit of momentum in the business world, mostly because of the efforts of companies like Best Buy. This work environment is much more focused on output and results, as opposed to an employee’s physical presence in the office.

It’s quite an exciting time to be an employee. The business world is currently in a transitional phase where we’re changing and evaluating schedules and work environments. More than just a backlash of the hardworking 40-hour workweek mentality of the previous decades, this effort to redefine the workweek is also of an exploratory nature. In a way, we are asking ourselves, what are we capable of when we achieve balance in our lives, and how is this balance attained?