tag:theconversation.com,2011:/africa/topics/work-life-balance-7644/articlesWork-life balance – The Conversation2024-03-20T15:56:09Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2260362024-03-20T15:56:09Z2024-03-20T15:56:09ZMumpreneurs: a growing entrepreneurial force in Chinese society<p>While much ink has been poured over China’s economic growth in recent decades, the contributions of Chinese women often receive less attention. With the pressure of the <a href="https://www.ined.fr/en/publications/editions/population-and-societies/china-s-new-three-child-policy-what-effects-can-we-expect/">“three-child policy”</a>, being a mother isn’t a mere personal choice, it’s a part of national demographic strategy. To navigate their lives, many Chinese mothers are now turning to what has been referred to as “mumpreneurship”. A January 2024 search for “妈妈创业” (the term in Chinese) showed 69.9 million results on Baidu, China’s primary search engine, compared to just 2.6 million English results on Google.</p>
<p>The term <em>mompreneur</em> was coined in 1996 by Patricia Cobe and Ellen Parlapiano, two entrepreneurs who caught global attention with a <a href="http://www.mompreneursonline.com/">website</a> and <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/624570.Patricia_Cobe">books</a> on the theme. Unlike <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0016718510001284">female entrepreneurs</a>, mumpreneurs are motivated to achieve work-life harmony by merging the identities of <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0266242611435182">motherhood and business ownership</a>. It’s typical to observe the boundaries of two roles blurring.</p>
<p><a href="https://journals.openedition.org/travailemploi/10041/">Prior research</a> indicates that the mumpreneurs movement has its roots in the United States in the 1990s, and that it saw further growth in France in the 2000s, as the Internet gained strength. The researchers defined it as a “feminised form of non-salaried work, in which independence is considered the ideal way to combine work and family.”</p>
<h2>Mumpreneurship in China</h2>
<p>Our ongoing research focuses on mumpreneurs in Chinese urban areas. We find that most are between the ages of 31 and 45, resourceful, educated and digitally savvy. Chinese women’s age at first birth is getting older, <a href="https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202302/1285983.shtml">30.36 in Shanghai in 2022</a>. According to a <a href="https://www.199it.com/archives/1418770.html">2022 Chinese Female Entrepreneurs Research Report</a>, women start their businesses at a young age, 36% before 30, 50% between 31 to 40.</p>
<p>Covid-19 has played a key role in driving the growth of mumpreneurship. Many parents are stepping back from the corporate life due to the economic downturn in China. Mumpreneurs are most commonly found in urban regions such as Beijing, Shanghai and Great Bay area, notably Shenzhen, where robust support networks and resources exist. Preferred sectors are children’s education and social services, HR consulting, psychotherapy consulting, and beauty-related industries. Businesses typically have small teams of no more than 10. Many of their leaders actively engage and enjoy the popularity on social media like TikTok and Xiaohongshu. One of our interviewees, DanDan, has pioneered a <a href="http://xhslink.com/ARVTnC">“divorced companion mumpreneurial business model”</a> (离婚搭子创业 in Chinese) in education and social-media marketing services that has received significant attention. She and her business partner have recently been invited to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vb7MlUvMNhs"><em>Super Diva</em></a>, a show spotlighting Chinese mothers from diverse backgrounds.</p>
<p>Contrary to the promise of work-life balance, Chinese mumpreneurs are driven and <a href="https://new.qq.com/rain/a/20231205A054G400">relentlessly self-improving</a> and are often sleep-deprived. Support can come from a range of source, including their partner, parents, paid services such as nannies, cleaners and drivers, and sometimes company employees. Office and family space are frequently within walking distance or even overlapping.</p>
<p>As in other Asian countries, K–12 education in China is highly competitive. Chinese mothers are often perceived to face triple expectation from the society, family, and themselves, while Chinese fathers can have more leniency. Our study reveals that when it comes to education, some Chinese mumpreneurs disagree with both 鸡娃 (Ji Wa) <a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/09/06/1024804523/forget-tiger-moms-now-chinas-chicken-blood-parents-are-pushing-kids-to-succeed">Chicken Blood parenting</a> and traditional laissez-faire motherhood. Instead, they believe in a spiritual maternal role, working to strengthen the emotional and personal construction of their children. Annie, a mumpreneur who works in human resources, remarked:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“I disagree with cramming, stressful, and result-oriented education. It’s essential for me to nurture my son’s capacity for happiness. It pains me to witness the prevalence of depression among Chinese children.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>While mumpreneurs value motherhood, for them it doesn’t consistently rank as the top priority. Instead, there’s unanimous agreement on the importance of prioritising the “me” as an individual, encompassing financial, physical, and mental self-care. Additionally, there’s a recurring theme indicating that a woman’s awakening process is influenced by her education and the duration of her marriage. As for the role of “wife”, it’s often optional, and many mumpreneurs are single, divorced or cohabiting with partners to whom they are not married.</p>
<h2>A social movement</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www-annualreviews-org.em-lyon.idm.oclc.org/doi/full/10.1146/annurev-polisci-052615-025801">rise of a social movement</a> is primarily facilitated by three key factors: more chances to influence politics, support networks, and shaping public opinion through messages. In China, the government has been making a strategic push to compensate for the country’s <a href="https://chinapower.csis.org/china-demographics-challenges/">demographic challenges</a>, which will become increasingly acute in the coming years. The country’s “one-child policy” was established in 1980, and it took more than a quarter-century to transit to the “two-child policy”, enacted in 2016. Less than five years later, the “three-child policy” came into force in 2021.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">“China pushes three-child policy” (NBC News).</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The increasing female power in China is another catalyst for the mumpreneurship movement. Since 1949, there has been remarkable progress in the economic, educational, and health status of Chinese women. The changing social perceptions could be sensed in the language used to describe them, from 大婶 (Aunty) to 爷 (Ye) meaning lord or master, and 女王 (Nu Wang) meaning queen. Women are being progressively liberated from the expectation of a life centred on supporting her family, children, and husband. Women in China are embracing more diverse values and contributing to a more inclusive society.</p>
<p>The support ecosystem for mumpreneurs has matured. These include the <a href="http://mqcy.cwdf.org.cn/">“@SHE Entrepreneur Plan”</a>, which is operated by the China Women’s Development Foundation. It has grown increasingly influential over the last 28 years and now covers more than 20 provinces. At the grassroots level, <a href="https://www.huxiu.com/article/37107.html">mumpreneur communities</a> are spreading with the help of social media. Interesting examples include Lamabang.net.com, Babytree.com (a sort of Facebook for parents and kids), ci123.com and 研究生 Yan Jiu Sheng (which highlights research on pregnancy).</p>
<p>Given their presence, our study mainly focuses on the mumpreneurs in urban areas. Given that the country’s spatial disparity, future research could explore mumpreneurship in rural areas. This may reveal differences in entrepreneurial motivation, motherhood definition, social capital and social networking.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Special thanks to Chen Liu (DBA candidate from Durham University and EM Lyon Business School) and Hanrui Liu (MSc in international marketing and business development, EM Lyon Business School) for their contributions to the ongoing research project.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/226036/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lisa Xiong ne travaille pas, ne conseille pas, ne possède pas de parts, ne reçoit pas de fonds d'une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n'a déclaré aucune autre affiliation que son organisme de recherche.</span></em></p>With the pressure of China’s “three-child policy”, many women are motivated to achieve work-life harmony by merging the identities of motherhood and business ownership.Lisa Xiong, Associate Professor in Strategy & Organization, EM Lyon Business SchoolLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2218152024-02-27T15:31:12Z2024-02-27T15:31:12ZThe future of work: Why we need to think beyond the hype of the four-day week<p>Is reducing working hours a sign of progress? Since the 19th century, the number of hours spent at work <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/working-more-than-ever">has been steadily declining in developed countries</a>.</p>
<p>The four-day week emerged in the 90s as a political and economic demand for a more equal division of work. The idea was to reduce the number of hours worked so that more people can access employment. This approach, developed in 1993 by French economist Pierre Larrouturou, was tested in 1996 with the de Robien law on the organisation of working hours. In France, business leaders such as Antoine Riboud, CEO of the multinational food-products firm Danone, <a href="https://www.sudouest.fr/economie/emploi/semaine-a-quatre-jours-travailler-moins-en-gagnant-autant-le-combo-miracle-14157515.php">championed the idea</a> as a way of boosting recruitment. However, the law was repealed in the early 2000s with the labour reform that introduced the 35-hour week. Elsewhere, in Germany, Volkswagen adopted the four-day week in 1994 to save 30,000 jobs, only to abandon it in 2006.</p>
<p>The Covid crisis and its associated lockdowns have brought this debate back into the spotlight. The widespread adoption of working from home, the use of new technologies and the increase in flexibility have profoundly transformed the way we work. This period has also reinforced employees’ desire for a better work-life balance. As a result, <a href="https://www.peoplemanagement.co.uk/article/1810688/work-life-balance-becoming-important-pay">56% of British employees</a> would accept to earn less money in exchange for more free time.</p>
<p>Against this backdrop, the debate on the four-day week is resurfacing. Countries in <a href="https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2022/05/03/business/four-day-working-week-japan/">Asia</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/nov/02/australian-workers-at-global-company-to-trial-four-day-week-after-success-of-new-zealand-pilot">Oceania</a> are looking at ways to organise their workforces in order to reengage their employees. In <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/20/jacinda-ardern-flags-four-day-working-week-as-way-to-rebuild-new-zealand-after-Covid-19">New Zealand</a>, the government introduced a four-day week at the end of the pandemic to boost productivity and improve work-life balance. In Japan, several companies have also come on board, including Hitachi and Microsoft. This measure, presented as a means of combating overwork culture, is also an opportunity to significantly improve productivity (by 40% in <a href="https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2019/11/05/business/microsoft-japan-says-four-day-workweek-boosted-productivity-40/">the case of Microsoft</a>).</p>
<p>Europe is following suit, starting with the countries of <a href="https://worldcrunch.com/business-finance/four-day-work-week">Northern Europe</a>, followed by the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/money/2024/feb/21/four-day-week-made-permanent-for-most-uk-firms-in-worlds-biggest-trial">UK</a>, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/money/2020/nov/15/time-has-come-for-four-day-week-say-european-politicians">Germany</a>, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/mar/15/spain-to-launch-trial-of-four-day-working-week">Spain</a>, <a href="https://www.euronews.com/next/2023/07/06/four-day-week-portugals-the-latest-european-country-to-trial-a-shorter-workweek">Portugal</a> and <a href="https://www.lemonde.fr/en/economy/article/2023/06/05/the-four-day-workweek-is-gaining-ground-in-france_6029110_19.html">France</a>.</p>
<p>This reform can take various shapes – each of them presenting specific challenges.</p>
<h2>A four-day week or a week squeezed into four days?</h2>
<p>The first approach is the most popular: an unchanged number of working hours, concentrated over four days. This is the model implemented by Belgium and the Nordic countries. In autumn 2022, Belgium passed a law on the four-day week, called the “deal for employment”: employees can work four days without any reduction in salary because their weekly working time remains the same. In Italy, the Intesa Sanpaolo bank is doing the same. In France, an attempt to do so was proposed in March 2023 to the <a href="https://www.courrier-picard.fr/id421991/article/2023-06-11/urssaf-picardie-pourquoi-la-semaine-de-4-jours-fait-un-flop">employees of Urssaf Picardie</a>, but was a complete failure. The cause: parenthood. Long days no longer allow parents to take their children to and from school.</p>
<p>This is a new form of temporal flexibility, without any reduction in working hours. As economist Éric Heyer <a href="https://www.liberation.fr/economie/social/la-semaine-de-quatre-jours-le-mirage-du-travailler-moins-20230613_XCNQGZ3HV5DFTPSU3JOFTCLMAY/">points out</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“We shouldn’t confuse the ‘four-day’ week, which reduces working time, with the ‘week in four days’, which compresses it.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The challenge, then, is to work differently so that the quality of work does not suffer as a result of intensification.</p>
<h2>Working less, working better</h2>
<p>The second approach is the true ideal of the four-day week, namely the 32-hour week: shorter working hours thanks to increased productivity. It has been implemented in Southern Europe (Spain, Portugal).</p>
<p>This formula is based on the idea of maintaining work productivity by identifying and reducing unproductive time, streamlining certain processes, notably reporting and participation in meetings. Working less, yes, but above all working better. It would in fact limit everything considered superfluous. That said, putting the organisation on a diet reduces its ability to adapt to rapid changes in its environment. For example, we now know that <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781315702001-6/behavioral-theory-firm-richard-cyert-james-march">“down times”</a> facilitate the exchange of information between teams.</p>
<p>This approach is deeply embedded in the idea that technology will compensate for any loss of productivity, a recurring theme since the publication of <a href="http://pinguet.free.fr/rifkin1995.pdf"><em>The End of Work</em></a> in 1995 by American essayist Jeremy Rifkin. The arrival of generative artificial intelligence has brought the concept back to the forefront. Bill Gates even talks about the imminent arrival of the <a href="https://fortune.com/2023/11/23/bill-gates-microsoft-3-day-work-week-machines-make-food/">three-day week</a>.</p>
<p>Since the advent of the industrial world, organisations have constantly sought to optimise working time. For many years, it simply kept pace with the production line. Working time and time at work were perfectly synonymous. Today, we don’t have to go to the office to work: work has moved into our personal spaces. Working time has become detached from office time. With the four-day week, the aim is to frame work in terms of time rather than space. <a href="https://www.jean-jaures.org/publication/la-semaine-de-quatre-jours-un-nouveau-symptome-de-lindividualisation-du-travail/">Sarah Proust</a>, an expert associated with the Fondation Jean-Jaurès, explains:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“What is at issue here is the organisation and distribution of work, rather the place we intend to give to work in society.”</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Toward a new work paradigm?</h2>
<p>Instead of focusing on the volume of hours, shouldn’t we be talking about the very nature of work? In the words of economist <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkEYYNCj-ws">Timothée Parrique</a>, we need to stop predicting the future of work with ideas like the four-day week, and start inventing the work of the future.</p>
<p>A growing body of research, notably in the wake of anthropologist David Graeber, is highlighting the loss of meaning at work, the rise of <a href="http://www.editionslesliensquiliberent.fr/livre-Bullshit_Jobs-546-1-1-0-1.html">“bullshit jobs”</a> and the “revolt of the top of the class”, to borrow the title of journalist <a href="https://www.arkhe-editions.com/livre/cassely-revolte-premier-classe/">Jean-Laurent Cassely’s</a> book.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, reorganising working hours will not be enough to reengage one’s workforce. Working time is above all a <a href="https://www.business.com/articles/management-theory-of-frederick-herzberg/">“hygiene factor”</a>, as psychologist Frederick Irving Herzberg explains. It cannot deliver the motivation so hoped-for by managers. It can only temper employee dissatisfaction. As a source of personal fulfilment and satisfaction, highers-up need to activate genuine “motivational factors”, such as by valuing the work accomplished, employees’ autonomy, or making work tasks more interesting.</p>
<p>Perhaps we need to create new utopias of work along the lines of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecotopia"><em>Ecotopia: The Notebooks and Reports of William Weston</em></a>, Ernest Callenbach’s book (1975) that imagined three West Coast states seceding from the USA to establish a radically ecological way of life. In it, Callenbach imagines a new model of society where people only work 22 hours a week. This utopia depicts economies where a large proportion of the available hours are devoted to social, political, cultural and environmental activities. Ecotopia advocates personal and collective fulfilment before individual success. Businesses are self-managed, public transport is free, education and health are accessible to all, criminal violence is absent, universal income is in force and recycling, sobriety and degrowth are the rule. </p>
<p>Callenbach wanted to give us a glimpse of a world he believed to be better, not only for the environment, but also for the individual balance of each person. As we live longer than ever, and as work occupies less time in our lives, we need to imagine, not a new way of working, but a new way of living.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/221815/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Les auteurs ne travaillent pas, ne conseillent pas, ne possèdent pas de parts, ne reçoivent pas de fonds d'une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n'ont déclaré aucune autre affiliation que leur organisme de recherche.</span></em></p>Working better or working less? Yaëlle Amsallem and Emmanuelle Léon explain how the four-day week raises questions about the meaning we give to work.Yaëlle Amsallem, Doctorante, Assistante de recherche de la Chaire Reinventing Work, ESCP Business SchoolEmmanuelle Léon, Professeure associée, Directrice scientifique de la Chaire Reinventing Work, ESCP Business SchoolLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2110442023-12-25T21:08:41Z2023-12-25T21:08:41ZSwitching off from work has never been harder, or more necessary. Here’s how to do it<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541198/original/file-20230804-25-96u3yl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=344%2C0%2C3213%2C1601&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Apple TV+</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In the hit dystopian TV series <a href="https://tv.apple.com/us/show/severance/umc.cmc.1srk2goyh2q2zdxcx605w8vtx">Severance</a>, employees at biotech corporation Lumon Industries find it easy to separate work and home life. A computer chip is inserted in their brains to act as a “mindwipe”. They leave all thoughts of home behind while at work, and completely forget about their work when at home.</p>
<p>While the show explores the pitfalls of such a split in consciousness, there’s no denying it’s a tantalising prospect to be able to “flick the off switch” and forget about work whenever you’re not actually supposed to be working.</p>
<p>This is known as “<a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2010-06007-012">psychological detachment</a>”. People who can do it are happier and healthier, and experience less fatigue. But many of us struggle to detach and disconnect mentally from work, particularly when our jobs are demanding and stressful.</p>
<p>It may not be enough simply to be physically away from work, particularly in an era when so many of us work from home. We also have to stop thinking about work when we’re not there – whether it’s fretting over your to-do list while out at dinner, thinking about your unanswered emails while you’re at your daughter’s soccer game, or lying in bed pondering what you’ll say at tomorrow’s board meeting. </p>
<h2>The art of detachment</h2>
<p>Your choice of activity outside work can be crucial to this process of psychological detachment. To learn more about what strategies are most effective, my research surveyed nurses who were working shifts in hospital emergency departments in 2020, a highly stressful work environment.</p>
<p>My colleagues and I collected data from 166 nurses, using a survey called the <a href="https://kops.uni-konstanz.de/server/api/core/bitstreams/98ac710b-0e57-4fb7-a281-e7a2aa0618ef/content">Recovery Experience Questionnaire</a>. This included collecting information about the underlying psychological experiences associated with home-time activities, such as feeling relaxed while reading a book or going for a walk.</p>
<p>Importantly, our <a href="https://doi.org/10.25904/1912/4832">survey results</a> also showed nurses who were better able to forget about work had less fatigue and better physical and mental health.</p>
<hr>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-running-can-help-you-cope-with-stress-at-work-198362">How running can help you cope with stress at work</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Our results identified three key strategies that helped our survey participants to reduce fatigue and mentally recover from work:</p>
<ul>
<li>exercise </li>
<li>spending time with family and friends </li>
<li>leisure pursuits. </li>
</ul>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="People in yoga class" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/566208/original/file-20231218-23-1uwu1v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/566208/original/file-20231218-23-1uwu1v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566208/original/file-20231218-23-1uwu1v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566208/original/file-20231218-23-1uwu1v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566208/original/file-20231218-23-1uwu1v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566208/original/file-20231218-23-1uwu1v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566208/original/file-20231218-23-1uwu1v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Exercise and spending time with friends are great ways to unwind.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Anupam Mahapatra/Unsplash</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The physical benefits of exercise are well known. But exercising – whether it’s doing yoga, going for a run or playing netball – also brings mental benefits by encouraging you to focus deeply on what you’re doing rather than dwelling on outside thoughts.</p>
<p>Friendship and social connection are also <a href="https://www.apa.org/monitor/2023/06/cover-story-science-friendship">good for our wellbeing</a>. Research suggests people who have plenty of friends and confidants are less likely to die from chronic disease. And one study found people who undertake a difficult task with the help of a friend have <a href="https://journals.lww.com/psychosomaticmedicine/abstract/1990/01000/social_support_reduces_cardiovascular_reactivity.4.aspx">fewer abrupt changes in heart rate</a> than those who tackle the task alone.</p>
<p>Deliberately making time to spend with family, friends or pets can help us forget about work at home, and to centre our attention instead on what is important to us besides work. </p>
<p>Many of the nurses in our study reduced the effects of fatigue during home time by pursuing hobbies and interests such as sewing or gardening. But you shouldn’t worry too much about what specific activity you pursue – the main thing is to pick something you find pleasurable and engaging, and which fits comfortably around your existing commitments.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/10-australian-companies-have-embraced-the-4-day-week-heres-what-they-say-about-it-206761">10 Australian companies have embraced the 4-day week. Here's what they say about it</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Leave your work at work</h2>
<p>Finally, switching off from work also means not letting your work come home with you. Where possible, complete all your daily tasks so these aren’t on your mind at home. Unplug from work-related technology by not checking work emails or texts.</p>
<p>Of course, technology and working from home have now made separating work and home even harder. But setting healthy routines can help put mental as well as physical boundaries around your work time – even when your workplace is in the next room.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/211044/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jane Gifkins does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A survey of nurses showed that sport, socialising and hobbies are all great ways to unwind, particularly when your job is stressful and demanding.Jane Gifkins, Researcher, Centre for Work, Organisation and Wellbeing, Griffith UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2170802023-12-25T21:08:27Z2023-12-25T21:08:27ZOlder workers still struggle with work-life balance – and there’s no one-size-fits-all remedy<p>The idea that we can comfortably manage all the different facets of life – work, family, other responsibilities – is certainly appealing. But in reality, there is no one-size-fits-all solution to <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alankohll/2018/03/27/the-evolving-definition-of-work-life-balance/?sh=331a3c429ed3">work-life balance</a> – especially for older workers.</p>
<p>Making up a third of the New Zealand workforce, older workers (<a href="https://www.oecd.org/els/emp/Brochure%20OW%2028-08.pdf">aged 55 and older</a>) are a growing cohort in the economy. </p>
<p>There is the temptation to treat everyone in this age bracket as the same. But <a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/IJM-04-2022-0181/full/html">our new research</a> shows this is a mistake. In fact, the support older workers want in order to achieve better work-life balance can <a href="https://www.aarp.org/pri/topics/work-finances-retirement/employers-workforce/multicultural-work-jobs-study-2023.htm">differ as they age</a>.</p>
<p>Indeed, the lives of older workers can vary greatly when it comes to employment, family structure, financial resources, time and wellbeing.</p>
<p>As the number of older employees in the economy grows, it’s important to understand what will help keep them satisfied in their work as they move towards and beyond retirement age.</p>
<h2>Anxiety, depression and older workers</h2>
<p>The goal of our research was to better understand the effects of work-life balance on anxiety and depression caused by job stress among older workers. </p>
<p>We asked two key questions: what effect does work-life balance have on older employees? And are there differences between groups of workers?</p>
<p>We surveyed 512 New Zealand employees in three age groups: 55-59 years, 60-64, and 65-plus. Respondents had been in their current jobs for an average of 12.6 years. </p>
<p>Some 58.2% were in the private sector, 31.6% were in the public/government sector, and 10.2% were in the not-for-profit sector.</p>
<p>In terms of age, 43.8% of respondents fell into the 55–59 age group. Those close to retirement age (60–64) made up 31.3% of respondents, and a further 25% were 65 and older – still working despite being eligible for superannuation.</p>
<h2>Work-life balance at different ages</h2>
<p>The average levels of work-life balance among the older workers we studied were high, comparing well with <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09585192.2017.1314311">similar studies looking at other age groups</a>. Those reporting high levels of work-life balance said they were able to comfortably manage their work, family and other responsibilities.</p>
<p>Job stress (when the demands of work exceed the resources of the employee), job anxiety (when the job is mentally stimulating but not enjoyable), and job depression (when there is little mental stimulation or enjoyment), can all affect wellbeing at work. </p>
<p>The 55–59 year-olds reported higher levels of job stress than older respondents. These younger older workers reported juggling stress that was fuelled by high job demands. Workers in this group were also managing the needs of younger families, often including children in their teenage years. </p>
<p>But respondents reported they experienced less stress in their jobs when their work-life balance was high. They subsequently had lower levels of anxiety and depression.</p>
<p>The younger cohort (55–59 years) reported the strongest benefits of having work-life balance. This effect reduced but remained significant as employees aged.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/five-stereotypes-about-older-workers-debunked-99954">Five stereotypes about older workers debunked</a>
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<p>Respondents who were 65 and older reported a reduction in job stress, and at levels significantly higher than the younger cohort with greater work-life balance.</p>
<p>Our analysis also showed the “retirement” group (those aged 65 and older) had the highest work-life balance, perhaps highlighting the strength of being “retired” (and receiving government income) while also being in paid employment.</p>
<p>At low levels of work-life balance, there was a significant difference in levels of job stress. Those in the younger age group (55–59 years) reported higher levels of job stress than respondents in the older age group.</p>
<p>When we compared this with respondents with high work-life balance, these differences were reversed, with respondents in the younger age group (55–59 years) reporting significantly lower job stress than the older age group.</p>
<p>Overall we found age – and proximity to the traditional retirement age – are important factors in how workers respond to work-life balance. Workers in the 55-59 age group still have a relatively long career ahead. For them, balancing work and life is especially beneficial.</p>
<h2>Employers need to think differently</h2>
<p>Managers need to understand that older workers are not a uniform group. It is important to develop age-relevant approaches to support the work-life balance of older employees.</p>
<p>Employers also need to consider how to allocate resources to support employee work-life balance across their lifespan.</p>
<p>These measures could include discussing interventions for managing job stress, as well as wellbeing resources that position ageing as positive. For example, using older managers as speakers in organisational wellness initiatives.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-driving-current-labour-market-shortages-and-how-older-workers-could-help-200873">What is driving current labour market shortages and how older workers could help</a>
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<p>By encouraging work-life balance, companies can foster lower levels of anxiety and depression and help staff find lasting job satisfaction.</p>
<p>Older people are often <a href="https://www.tepou.co.nz/initiatives/working-with-older-people">invisible in conversations about mental health</a>. However, having <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/onemind/2022/08/04/the-decade-of-healthy-aging-cannot-ignore-mental-health-of-older-workers/?sh=4b071e296b87">older workers who are mentally strong</a>, healthy and productive is increasingly essential for businesses.</p>
<p>Older workers themselves should also seek to understand what drives and diminishes their own work-life balance. It is an <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09585192.2021.1961161">important predictor of wellbeing</a> – especially as workers 55 and over could be an “older” worker for decades to come.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/217080/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Older workers can struggle as much with work-life balance as their younger counterparts. But employers need to avoid treating them as a single group – their needs are surprisingly diverse.Candice Harris, Professor of Management, Auckland University of TechnologyBarbara Myers, Associate Professor, Auckland University of TechnologyJarrod Haar, Dean's Chair in Management and Māori Business, Massey UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2135542023-11-06T05:40:20Z2023-11-06T05:40:20ZA 4-day week might not work in health care. But adapting this model could reduce burnout among staff<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557212/original/file-20231102-15-bi7e32.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C2995%2C1576&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/nurse-stress-depression-man-on-hospital-2265615149">PeopleImages.com - Yuri A/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The COVID pandemic saw a <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/burnt-out-australias-hospital-system-struggling-to-cope-amid-covid-19-wave-healthcare-workers-warn/lru94oiaj">mass exodus</a> of health-care workers across developed countries, exacerbating an existing <a href="https://www.afr.com/politics/no-answers-to-huge-problem-of-healthcare-worker-exodus-20230307-p5cq5o">health-care staffing crisis</a>. </p>
<p>In Australia, turnover rates among hospital staff <a href="https://www.oracle.com/au/human-capital-management/cost-employee-turnover-healthcare/#:%7E:text=In%202022%2C%20turnover%20rates%20for,to%2094%25%20at%20nursing%20homes.">reached nearly 20%</a> in 2022. Hospital waiting lists in Victoria alone ballooned to <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/cash-alone-won-t-fix-hospital-staffing-woes-20230414-p5d0fa.html">80,000 in 2023</a>.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.nsinursingsolutions.com/Documents/Library/NSI_National_Health_Care_Retention_Report.pdf">United States</a> and the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/mar/26/nhs-england-staff-shortages-could-exceed-570000-by-2036-study-finds">United Kingdom</a> have faced similar staffing issues.</p>
<p>Efforts are underway globally to <a href="https://www.education.gov.au/higher-education-funding/commonwealth-grant-scheme-cgs/20000-additional-commonwealth-supported-places">educate new health professionals</a> and boost the <a href="https://www.health.gov.au/ministers/the-hon-mark-butler-mp/media/government-cuts-red-tape-for-overseas-trained-doctors">skilled migration of doctors</a>.</p>
<p>However, retaining existing staff is a paramount strategy. </p>
<p>The pandemic accelerated the exploration of more flexible work arrangements, while the idea of a four-day work week is continually gaining traction. Could this be a solution to improve the retention of burnt out staff in the health-care sector?</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/health-worker-burnout-and-compassion-fatigue-put-patients-at-risk-how-can-we-help-them-help-us-191429">Health worker burnout and 'compassion fatigue' put patients at risk. How can we help them help us?</a>
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</p>
<hr>
<h2>Burnout</h2>
<p>Health-care professionals have historically experienced <a href="https://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/article/S0025-6196(18)30938-8/fulltext">high levels of burnout</a>. </p>
<p>The strain of balancing demanding work schedules, including long hours and shift work, with family responsibilities, can lead to work-family conflicts. Also, the nature of the profession means staff are often exposed to traumatic situations such as patient deaths, further elevating stress levels. COVID has intensified the issue of <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2021.750529/full?hidemenu=true">burnout in health care</a>. </p>
<p>Burnout commonly leads <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/debgordon/2022/05/17/amid-healthcares-great-resignation-burned-out-workers-are-pursuing-flexibility-and-passion/?sh=5c4314507fda">health-care workers to resign</a>, and also contributes to <a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/01437721011050594/full/html?casa_token=nr9ADuU_NwcAAAAA:GpDmtyeG9mgabwrsADWwebyIQhYePpc4ZgM2Cu9VfPOsP7VQUEo5cyJhPriWp7yqA2B3HBYW-WAOPRfNF-zdlywoomCPN5Z_6FPFYc2F9hZx3-UIrPwm">early retirement</a>. </p>
<p>For those who remain in the profession, burnout <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0025619616001014">negatively affects productivity</a>, including increasing the likelihood of perceived <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/203249">medical errors</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A nurse attends to a patient's IV drip." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557213/original/file-20231102-25-oc7b5i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557213/original/file-20231102-25-oc7b5i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557213/original/file-20231102-25-oc7b5i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557213/original/file-20231102-25-oc7b5i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557213/original/file-20231102-25-oc7b5i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557213/original/file-20231102-25-oc7b5i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557213/original/file-20231102-25-oc7b5i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Staff shortages are a big issue in the health-care sector.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/hospital-ward-professional-black-head-nurse-1985507474">Gorodenkoff/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
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<h2>Rise of the four-day week</h2>
<p>A four-day work week is based on the so-called 100-80-100 arrangement, where 100% of productivity is achieved in 80% of the time with 100% of pay. So that might mean working Monday to Thursday, but getting paid a full wage, and with an expectation that you’ll produce as much in four days as you did in five.</p>
<p>In a pilot study by Cambridge University and <a href="https://www.4dayweek.com">4 Day Week Global</a>, <a href="https://www.cam.ac.uk/stories/fourdayweek">71% of participants reported</a> feeling less burnt out, while there was a 57% fall in staff resignations. These outcomes <a href="https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/how-far-reaching-could-the-four-day-workweek-become/">are similar to results</a> from trials in Belgium, Spain, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. </p>
<p>But the execution of a four-day work week in health care comes with unique challenges. The model has primarily been trialled in office and corporate environments, where a five-day work week, totalling 35-40 hours, is conventional. </p>
<p>For many health-care workers, especially nurses, longer hours and shift work are the norm. Nurses are often expected to work on public holidays, and may have to work for <a href="https://www.healthstaffrecruitment.com.au/news/nurse-working-hours-in-australia/">six or seven consecutive days</a> before having a few days off, instead of the standard five days on, two days off. </p>
<p>Also, many health-care services, such as hospitals and aged care facilities, require staffing seven days a week. It’s imperative any restructured work arrangements are designed to ensure continuous, adequate staffing.</p>
<p>Consequently, a direct transition from a five-day to a four-day work week might not be immediately logical or applicable.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/4-day-work-week-trials-have-been-labelled-a-resounding-success-but-4-big-questions-need-answers-201476">4-day work week trials have been labelled a ‘resounding success’. But 4 big questions need answers</a>
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<p>Instead, this model should be conceptualised more broadly for health care, focusing on reducing and optimising working hours, and addressing the specifics of rostering and workforce planning in the industry. </p>
<h2>Applying this model to health care</h2>
<p>The focus should be on achieving greater productivity through reducing stress and burnout. Although shifting to a four-day work week won’t necessarily be practical, there should be an emphasis on shorter hours, guided by the 100-80-100 model.</p>
<p>The application of this model within health care would vary. For example, specialist physicians work <a href="https://labourmarketinsights.gov.au/occupation-profile/specialist-physicians?occupationCode=2533#:%7E:text=Around%2079%25%20of%20people%20employed,(44%20hours%20per%20week).">50 hours a week on average</a>, so applying the model would reduce their work week to 40 hours.</p>
<p>Shift design, particularly <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10729-022-09613-4">for nurses</a>, should focus on ways to reduce fatigue and in turn burnout. This might include scheduling shifts at a consistent time of day for individual staff members, implementing shorter shifts, and rostering reasonable consecutive working days (instead of seven or more days in a row before getting a day off).</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Four people working around a table in an office." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557214/original/file-20231102-21-q9g8oq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557214/original/file-20231102-21-q9g8oq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=379&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557214/original/file-20231102-21-q9g8oq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=379&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557214/original/file-20231102-21-q9g8oq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=379&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557214/original/file-20231102-21-q9g8oq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=476&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557214/original/file-20231102-21-q9g8oq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=476&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557214/original/file-20231102-21-q9g8oq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=476&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Trials of a four-day work week have shown positive results in corporate settings.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/office-colleagues-having-casual-discussion-during-1791564398">Jacob Lund/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<h2>The benefits</h2>
<p>Reducing the hours worked and optimising shift rostering could help to alleviate stress, burnout and work-family conflict for health-care workers. All this is likely to improve staff retention.</p>
<p>Any reduction in staff turnaround would save on direct costs associated with hiring new staff. The cost to replace a highly specialised health-care professional can reach up to <a href="https://www.oracle.com/au/human-capital-management/cost-employee-turnover-healthcare/">200% of their annual salary</a>. </p>
<p>Also, implementing shorter shifts – for example shifts lasting four or eight hours instead of 12 – may <a href="https://upaged.com/blog/healthcare-organisations-workplace-flexibility/">increase the uptake of</a> shift times that are usually hard to fill. Measures like shorter shifts could also appeal to part-time workers or those who have retired.</p>
<p>Finally, reducing burnout and absenteeism will improve productivity among staff. This will indirectly lower costs and benefit public health.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-burnt-out-health-workforce-impacts-patient-care-180021">A burnt-out health workforce impacts patient care</a>
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</em>
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<h2>Some challenges</h2>
<p>As it can take a <a href="https://ipractice.nl/en/symptoms/burnout/treatment-and-recovery/#:%7E:text=How%20Long%20Does%20Burnout%20Last,or%20periods%20of%20stagnant%20recovery.">few months</a> to a <a href="https://www.wellics.com/blog/how-long-to-recover-from-burnout">few years</a> to recover from burnout, once any changes are implemented, the benefits would take time to be seen. </p>
<p>And reducing working hours as well as other changes to rostering will initially be difficult given current staff shortages in the sector. </p>
<p>Hopefully, measures such as migration incentives and subsidised training for health-care professionals will bolster the workforce and make bridging this gap a little easier.</p>
<p>Although the implementation is not straightforward, changes to working arrangements in the health-care sector could have an even greater positive impact than in other industries.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/213554/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nataliya Ilyushina receives funding from the ARC Centre of Excellence.</span></em></p>The COVID pandemic has exacerbated staff shortages in health care. We need to think about how we can better retain staff in this sector.Nataliya Ilyushina, Research Fellow, Blockchain Innovation Hub, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2141362023-10-31T21:38:18Z2023-10-31T21:38:18ZStuck in the waiting room: Why women and minority groups are still underrepresented in top management<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/549672/original/file-20230913-33750-imqte4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=40%2C0%2C4470%2C2964&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The percentage of women at the helm of companies in North America still hovers around five per cent.
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Over the past few years, there has been a great deal of research looking at how well women are represented in top companies. The findings continue to be distressing. </p>
<p>Whether in Canada or the United States, the proportion of women in top management in large organizations still hovers around five per cent. </p>
<p>Can we expect this percentage to increase over the next few years? Will today’s pool of up-and-coming female talent ensure a substantial increase in the number of female CEOs, or will other strategies be required to change the game?</p>
<p>As dean of the John Molson School of Business and a decades-long expert on the place of women in the upper echelons of the business world, we are interested in explaining the current standstill.</p>
<h2>Diversity in the C-Suite</h2>
<p>A <a href="https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Diversity-in-the-C-Suite%3A-The-Dismal-State-of-Among-Larcker-Tayan/192970d4859158281b752be4b76bdf7e8dc0a2c6">recent study</a> published by Stanford University professors David F. Larcker and Brian Tayan provides us with some interesting information on this subject. The aim of the study was to identify the potential for women and members of cultural communities to be appointed to CEO positions in the top 100 U.S. companies. The authors evaluated those who hold positions that report directly to a CEO. </p>
<p>The conclusions of this analysis are worrying:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>only 25 per cent of women hold such positions;</p></li>
<li><p>few women can be found in the functions that have the greatest potential for promotion, i.e. operations (15 per cent), financial services (14 per cent) and legal services (35 per cent);</p></li>
<li><p>the functions that offer fewer opportunities for promotion to CEO, according to the criteria used to select potential CEOs, are occupied to a greater extent by women (head of human resources, risk management, communications, etc.).</p></li>
</ul>
<p>The greater presence of women in these support functions illustrates <a href="https://hbr.org/2007/09/women-and-the-labyrinth-of-leadership">the leadership labyrinth</a>, i.e. the complex, dead-end detours that women face in their careers due to stereotypes, biases and family responsibilities that they continue to shoulder alone, despite better sharing of these functions with their male partners.</p>
<p>Why, after so many decades of efforts to increase female representation in decision-making bodies, do so few women manage to hold these positions? We are proposing three sources of indirect discrimination as an explanation for this.</p>
<h2>Lack of experience, a discriminatory criterion</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.spencerstuart.com/research-and-insight/predicting-ceo-success-when-potential-outperforms-experience">In a recent article</a> published by consulting firm Spencer Stuart, it was noted that the demand for experienced CEOs had almost quadrupled since the turn of the century, rising from four per cent in 1997 to 16 per cent in 2019. According to executives consulted by the firm, those in charge of selection processes assume that prior CEO experience is a predictor of the impact a candidate will have on shareholder value.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.spencerstuart.com/-/media/2019/hbr-ceo-lifecycle/hbr_ceo_lifecycle_spencerstuart.pdf">The findings of another study</a> carried out by the same firm on the life cycle of CEOs and their performance cast doubt on the assumption that there is a link between prior experience and shareholder value. </p>
<p>After analyzing the performance of 855 S&P CEOs over a 20-year period, the firm found that first-time CEOs produced a higher rate of shareholder return (TSR) than did experienced CEOs. These non-experienced CEOs had also demonstrated the advantage of staying in the job longer and having a less volatile performance overall. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/272806955_La_remuneration_des_dirigeants_mythes_et_recommandations">According to the results of another study</a> carried out a few years ago by Professors Michel Magnan of Concordia University and Sylvie St-Onge of HEC Montréal, less than 10 per cent of the differences in the stock market performance of the major Canadian banks can be explained by factors specific to each bank. These include the decisions and initiatives of the incumbent CEO, as well as the bank’s employees, customer base, business location and business mix.</p>
<p>The criterion of prior CEO experience, and the importance attached to it, is a factor of indirect discrimination that prevents women, members of cultural communities and young talent from having access to these positions. In addition to being discriminatory, this criterion perpetuates the status quo and limits access to such positions to a restricted group of individuals.</p>
<h2>Hiring people who look like us</h2>
<p>The concept of “cultural fit” aims to select talented individuals who are in line with the company’s culture, i.e. its values, vision, role, objectives and other elements that make up its character. </p>
<p>While using this criterion to recruit has the advantage of attracting talent who will integrate and perform quickly, it has the disadvantage of favouring the status quo and majority rule. It also means we surround ourselves with people who resemble us, whether in terms of gender, age, cultural origins or other differences <a href="https://insight.kellogg.northwestern.edu/article/cultural-fit-discrimination">that might be seen as disrupting the status quo</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.talentinnovation.org/_private/assets/IDMG-ExecSummFINAL-CTI.pdf">A study</a> from the Center for Talent Innovation clearly shows that innovation thrives in an environment where leaders accept difference, are open to change and disruption, and encourage free expression.</p>
<h2>The underestimated financial value of diversity</h2>
<p>A group of researchers from Bryant University and Concordia University <a href="https://journals.aom.org/doi/abs/10.5465/AMPROC.2023.134bp">carried out an empirical study of the financial performance</a> of CEOs at the head of publicly traded U.S. companies. More than 11,600 observations were made each year over a 15-year period (1998-2013). </p>
<p>They found that women of colour and white women outperformed men of colour, who outperformed white men. According to the authors, these results can be explained by the fact that from a very young age, people from minority backgrounds are told by those around them that they need to develop resilience, and that if they want to succeed, they need to be smarter and do better than anyone else. </p>
<h2>More human leadership</h2>
<p>In a world where volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity prevail, the leadership qualities that are appropriate to such a context should guide selection processes. These qualities — agility, adaptability, empathy, humility — can be found in both men and women. These are what we call “soft skills.” </p>
<p><a href="https://hbr.org/2022/07/the-c-suite-skills-that-matter-most">According to a study published in August 2022</a>, the quest for these qualities has become increasingly important in job descriptions for senior management positions over the past decade. Prioritizing the qualities that allow us to identify the best candidates is the only way we will ensure a level playing field for women and men alike. </p>
<p>Companies can benefit from recognizing the importance of diversity in talent and leadership styles. By promoting the best people to positions of power, companies will become more efficient and more humane.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214136/count.gif" alt="La Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Les auteurs ne travaillent pas, ne conseillent pas, ne possèdent pas de parts, ne reçoivent pas de fonds d'une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n'ont déclaré aucune autre affiliation que leur organisme de recherche.</span></em></p>After decades of efforts to increase female representation in corporate decision-making bodies, few women are managing to take the reins of power.Louise Champoux-Paillé, Cadre en exercice, John Molson School of Business, Concordia UniversityAnne-Marie Croteau, Dean, John Molson School of Business, Concordia UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2092662023-07-17T16:05:31Z2023-07-17T16:05:31ZWhy it’s so difficult to figure out what to do with your life – and three steps to take<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537322/original/file-20230713-25-2wajtn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=110%2C100%2C6599%2C4365&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Feeling stuck in the wrong job?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/clueless-sad-confused-mistaken-employee-business-2316580361">ViDI Studio/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>What do you want to be when you grow up? </p>
<p>Practically from the moment you start talking, you’re asked this question. As a child, you’re encouraged to make decisions about school subjects, activities and higher education, all in pursuit of a future career. </p>
<p>These decisions, which have major repercussions for how the rest of your life will unfold, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/careers/young-people-take-career-decisions-too-early">are often hastily made</a>.</p>
<p>Careers advice can be challenging to navigate and tends to focus on <a href="https://www.bi.team/blogs/moments-of-choice-how-young-people-make-career-decisions/">“moments of choice”</a>: those crucial transition points at which you need to make career decisions, such as when leaving secondary school. </p>
<p>However, <a href="https://www.careersandenterprise.co.uk/media/m31lm1qo/moments_of_choice_report.pdf">“moments of inspiration”</a> are equally important. These are the times in which you are free to reflect on what you would really like to do, free of pressure or external influence.</p>
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<img alt="Quarter life, a series by The Conversation" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><em><strong><a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/quarter-life-117947?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">This article is part of Quarter Life</a></strong>, a series about issues affecting those of us in our twenties and thirties. From the challenges of beginning a career and taking care of our mental health, to the excitement of starting a family, adopting a pet or just making friends as an adult. The articles in this series explore the questions and bring answers as we navigate this turbulent period of life.</em></p>
<p><em>You may be interested in:</em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/three-mindfulness-and-meditation-techniques-that-could-help-you-manage-work-stress-208328?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">Three mindfulness and meditation techniques that could help you manage work stress</a></em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/your-linkedin-doesnt-need-to-be-perfect-four-ways-to-build-an-authentic-profile-to-boost-your-personal-brand-201837?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">Your LinkedIn doesn’t need to be perfect – four ways to build an authentic profile to boost your personal brand</a></em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/worried-about-ai-you-might-have-ai-nxiety-heres-how-to-cope-205874?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">Worried about AI? You might have AI-nxiety – here’s how to cope</a></em></p>
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<p>Many young professionals in their 20s and 30s find themselves trapped in the wrong job. Some feel unfulfilled, while others feel that they are overeducated and that <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/millions-stuck-in-the-wrong-job-study-finds-10968708">their talents are underutilised</a>. </p>
<p>According to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics, one in three graduates are <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/news/news/oneinthreegraduatesovereducatedfortheircurrentrole">overeducated for their current role</a>. By 2030, things are expected to tip in the other direction: the rapidly changing work landscape might cause millions of UK workers to become <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/future-of-work/the-future-of-work-rethinking-skills-to-tackle-the-uks-looming-talent-shortage">underskilled</a> in digital, decision-making, communication and leadership skills.</p>
<h2>Why is it so hard to figure out what to do with your life?</h2>
<p>Career decisions are a balancing act. You have to align your interests and aptitudes with the current demands of the labour market, neither of which are static entities. </p>
<p>Your skills and interests (<a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/9781118970843.ch53">and to some extent, even your personality</a>) change over time, and the labour market is in a constant state of flux. The pandemic-related increases in vacancies in <a href="https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/how-has-the-pandemic-affected-industries-and-labour-in-the-uk/">certain sectors</a> and the potential effect of automation on the <a href="https://www.pwc.co.uk/economic-services/assets/international-impact-of-automation-feb-2018.pdf">displacement of jobs in others</a> are just two examples of labour market trends that you may need to consider.</p>
<p>Here are three ways to figure out what you want to do with your life.</p>
<h2>1. Set a career goal</h2>
<p>While many people conflate the terms <a href="https://napier-repository.worktribe.com/output/2747064/new-information-literacy-horizons-making-the-case-for-career-information-literacy">“work” and “career”</a>, I take care in my research to distinguish between them. While work refers to employment, career is something different. It is a continuing personal development project. </p>
<p>It begins not on the first day of a new job, but by setting career goals. These goals depend on your strengths and interests and, above all, on your values. </p>
<p>There are many ways to approach the task of goal-setting, either on your own or with the help of others. As a starting point, you could complete a career quiz (such as this fun one called <a href="https://animalme.myworldofwork.co.uk/">Animal Me</a>) or reflect on where you see yourself in five or ten years. </p>
<p>Consider what you most enjoy doing and what you excel at. What tasks and experiences do you find most fulfilling and rewarding?</p>
<p>If you don’t know your strengths or what you might enjoy doing, talk to others who know you well. Family members, friends and coworkers may be able to help you see yourself and what you bring to the table through their eyes.</p>
<h2>2. Make a plan</h2>
<p>The next step is to gather information on how you can achieve your vision, and set milestones along the way.</p>
<p>If you’re looking to change career direction, you would first need to find out if you need training, work experience or further education. You would then need to identify specific companies or institutions in your area that match the criteria you have set out in your plan. </p>
<p>If you’re after a more minor career adjustment, you might have fewer steps to go through. You could consider different roles that you are already qualified to do, or look through the job openings at your current company. </p>
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<img alt="A young woman smiling and writing in a notebook while sitting at a cafe outdoors" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537503/original/file-20230714-21-j763kq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537503/original/file-20230714-21-j763kq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537503/original/file-20230714-21-j763kq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537503/original/file-20230714-21-j763kq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537503/original/file-20230714-21-j763kq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537503/original/file-20230714-21-j763kq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537503/original/file-20230714-21-j763kq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Goal-setting session.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/woman-smile-writing-notes-student-education-2284538371">Yuri A/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>If you feel stuck, you can get in touch with your local career service for free and impartial career information, advice and guidance. In the UK, these are the <a href="https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/">National Careers Service</a> (England), <a href="https://www.skillsdevelopmentscotland.co.uk/what-we-do/scotlands-careers-services/our-centres/">Skills Development Scotland</a> and <a href="https://careerswales.gov.wales/">Careers Wales</a>.</p>
<p>And if you’re feeling bold, you could also contact people who are in your dream job and ask them how they got there.</p>
<h2>3. Find decent and meaningful work</h2>
<p>Until you figure out that dream role, you should try to look for what careers scholars such as <a href="https://careerguidancesocialjustice.wordpress.com/2021/08/24/everyone-has-a-right-to-a-decent-and-dignified-life-that-includes-a-meaningful-career-an-interview-with-david-blustein/">David Blustein</a> and <a href="https://iep.utm.edu/sen-cap/">Amartya Sen</a> have described as decent and meaningful work.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00407/full">Decent work</a> upholds the basic principles of social justice and human rights. You will know that you are in a decent job when you are fairly compensated, your role is not precarious, and work does not make you chronically stressed or ill.</p>
<p>Meaningful work is aligned with your values and lets you achieve the kind of life that you value. Any work can be meaningful work, as long as it is compatible with what you consider to be important. </p>
<p>A meaningful job can be one that allows you to have a good work-life balance, or one that comes with high pay. It could be a job that helps others, or one that lets you express yourself creatively. It could also be a job that facilitates your personal growth or a job that contributes to the greater good. </p>
<p>Career planning takes time, but so does being stuck in the wrong job. British people spend an average of <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/british-people-work-days-lifetime-overtime-quit-job-survey-study-a8556146.html">3,507 days at work</a> over their lives. Why not spend that time doing something you love?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/209266/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marina Milosheva receives funding from the ESRC. </span></em></p>If you’re stuck in the ‘wrong’ job, thinking about your skills and values can help you find the right one.Marina Milosheva, PhD Candidate, Social Informatics, Edinburgh Napier UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2081972023-06-30T10:50:53Z2023-06-30T10:50:53ZGP crisis: how did things go so wrong, and what needs to change?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/534010/original/file-20230626-19-vxau2w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=31%2C94%2C2950%2C1800&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">For many GPs, having fewer opportunities to engage directly with patients has led to a loss of professional satisfaction.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-vector/doctor-checking-patients-blood-pressure-check-2219492231">A.B. Putra/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><blockquote>
<p>There has to come a point where doctors decide, I can’t do my job any more – and then the situation will spiral out of control. I would use the term ‘crisis’: so many parts of the NHS are under such enormous pressure that they are unable to provide the personal care that patients need, unable to provide effective care, and increasingly unable to even provide safe care.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In a speech to mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Royal College of General Practitioners, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/nov/27/stress-exhaustion-1000-patients-a-day-english-gp-nhs-collapse">reported in the Observer</a>, its outgoing president Martin Marshall was blunt about the state of his profession. His fears for GPs’ futures were echoed across the media throughout the winter of 2022, amid warnings of a “<a href="https://www.pslhub.org/blogs/entry/4267-gps-warn-of-%E2%80%98tsunami-of-demand%E2%80%99-this-winter-as-patient-contacts-surge-200/">tsunami of demand</a>” from the public. In January, a member of the <a href="https://www.generalpracticesurvival.com/">GP Survival</a> network <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/jan/24/terrifying-gp-dash-a-and-e-ambulance-delays-nhs-waiting">wrote</a> that the pressures had got too much:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I’m only 58 but I’m retiring in March. I can’t cope any more with the stress and overtime being a GP involves – doing the job of two people while GPs are criticised regularly by the right-wing media … I am too overloaded and don’t really see the point when my patients are being harmed by delays across the NHS and care services.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In March, the Health Foundation – one of the UK’s most influential independent health bodies – published a <a href="https://www.health.org.uk/sites/default/files/upload/publications/2023/Stressed%20and%20overworked_WEB.pdf">survey of nearly 10,000 GPs</a> in ten countries around the world. Some 71% of UK GPs said their job was “extremely” or “very stressful” – the highest of the ten countries surveyed, alongside Germany. The report concluded:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Results from this survey and others show alarming numbers of GPs looking to leave the profession, reduce their hours, or stop seeing patients in the near future … The experience of GPs in the UK should ring alarm bells for government.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Over the past decade, one in five practices in England and Wales have closed. The multiple challenges facing GPs show no sign of receding, despite the reduced threat posed by COVID. In May 2023, Anita Raja, a West Midlands GP, <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/gps-at-breaking-point-in-englands-most-deprived-areas-12889054">told Sky News</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>GPs are at breaking point. We’re immensely understaffed. Partners are leaving their partnerships, practices are closing down. If it goes on the way it is, we will have no primary care any more.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>For many UK GPs, the seemingly endless demands on their time and “<a href="https://www.pulsetoday.co.uk/news/workload/gps-experience-overwhelming-number-of-daily-patient-contacts-ahead-of-winter/">overwhelming</a>” number of patient contacts are key components of work-related stress. A significant amount of a GP’s day is now spent on clinically-demanding background work, such as making sure that all test results are understood in the context of each patient, and that actions recommended by hospital specialists are appropriately put in place.</p>
<p>“It’s the boiling frog analogy,” Bob Hodges, a Gloucester GP, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/nov/27/stress-exhaustion-1000-patients-a-day-english-gp-nhs-collapse">told the Observer</a>. “The water’s not been comfortable for a decade, but it’s now very noticeably warmer. It will soon reach a threshold where there is a collapse.” In the same article, Rowena Christmas, a GP in Monmouthshire, offered this chilling warning:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I do sometimes feel we are in [the] dark last days of this way of doing things, and it really makes me feel sick to say that … If we lose general practice, we lose the NHS as we know it, with all the awful health inequalities that will follow.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>The link between stress and GP shortages</h2>
<p>Many GPs say they have <a href="https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/en/publications/why-do-gps-leave-direct-patient-care-and-what-might-help-to-retai">long felt undervalued</a> by the general public, the media and the government – with <a href="https://bjgp.org/content/72/725/e907">negative media portrayals</a> of remote GP consultations during the pandemic only adding to these criticisms. Many believe they are being <a href="https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n2234">blamed for the fallout</a> from more than a decade of underinvestment in primary healthcare.</p>
<p>The increasing levels of <a href="https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/en/publications/why-do-gps-leave-direct-patient-care-and-what-might-help-to-retai">work-related stress and low morale</a> is having a damaging effect on <a href="https://prucomm.ac.uk/assets/uploads/Tenth_GPWLS_2019_Final_version_post-review_corrected_1.pdf">recruitment and retention of GPs</a> across the UK. Dissatisfaction with working in the UK is also a factor in some doctors’ decisions to <a href="https://www.gmc-uk.org/-/media/documents/migration-decisions-research-report_pdf-94525731.pdf">take their qualifications overseas</a>.</p>
<p>The Royal College of GPs has predicted a “<a href="https://www.rcgp.org.uk/News/Mass-exodus">mass exodus</a>” of GPs and trainees in the UK over the next few years. Its <a href="https://www.rcgp.org.uk/getmedia/1aeea016-9167-4765-9093-54a8ee8ae188/RCGP-Fit-for-the-Future-A-New-plan-for-General-Practice.pdf">2022 survey</a> of 1,262 GP and trainee respondents in England found that 42% were “likely” to quit the profession within the next five years. One in ten said they expected to leave within a year.</p>
<p>Analysis of the latest <a href="https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/general-and-personal-medical-services/31-march-2023">workforce data</a> confirms a continuing drop in England’s number of GPs – the equivalent of <a href="https://www.bma.org.uk/advice-and-support/nhs-delivery-and-workforce/pressures/pressures-in-general-practice-data-analysis">2,133 fewer fully qualified, full-time GPs</a> than in September 2015. At the same time, GPs’ <a href="https://www.pulsetoday.co.uk/news/workload/gps-working-average-11-hour-day-major-survey-reveals/">working hours have increased</a> and the <a href="https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/appointments-in-general-practice">number of appointments delivered</a> in England continues to exceed previous monthly records.</p>
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<p><em>To mark the 75th anniversary of the launch of the NHS, we’ve commissioned <a href="https://theconversation.com/topics/how-to-fix-the-nhs-140880?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UKNHSseries">a series of articles</a> addressing the biggest challenges the service now faces. We want to understand not only what needs to change, but the knock-on effects on other parts of this extraordinarily complex health system.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>Yet difficulties in <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-65275367">accessing NHS GPs</a> – including the infamous “<a href="https://www.itv.com/news/2023-05-08/end-the-8am-scramble-gp-booking-systems-to-be-overhauled-under-new-plans">8am scramble</a>” for on-the-day appointments – remain of major public concern. In 2023, a widely circulated <a href="https://twitter.com/mrdanwalker/status/1591373610085654528">joke</a> suggested trying to buy a ticket for comedian Peter Kay’s latest tour was as hard as getting a GP appointment.</p>
<p>One policy response has been to bring in many <a href="https://www.england.nhs.uk/gp/expanding-our-workforce/">non-GP practitioners</a> to work alongside GPs in their surgeries. However, our <a href="https://www.journalslibrary.nihr.ac.uk/hsdr/YWTU6690/#/abstract">May 2022 study</a> found that the need for GPs to provide ongoing supervision and support for these staff, some of whom have little or no experience of working in general practice, has created a <a href="https://blog.policy.manchester.ac.uk/posts/2021/10/achieving-the-right-mix-of-skills-in-general-practice-its-a-process-not-a-destination/">new and, for many GPs, unexpected workload</a>.</p>
<p>The new <a href="https://www.pulsetoday.co.uk/news/pulse-on-workforce/2-4bn-workforce-plan-to-increase-gp-training-places-by-50-among-other-measures/">NHS Long Term Workforce Plan</a> for England, announced today, promises a 50% increase in the number of GP training places to 6,000 by 2031, with GP trainees due to spend their entire training in general practice. The new plan has been <a href="https://www.england.nhs.uk/2023/06/record-recruitment-and-reform-to-boost-patient-care-under-first-nhs-long-term-workforce-plan/#:%7E:text=%E2%80%9CThe%20NHS%20Long%20Term%20Workforce,patients%20in%20generations%20to%20come.%E2%80%9D">described</a> by Amanda Pritchard, chief-executive of NHS England, as a “once in a generation opportunity to put staffing on a sustainable footing”. Its effectiveness in resolving the crisis in general practice can, in part, be assessed against achieving increases in the number of GPs that previous government pledges have failed to deliver.</p>
<p>In May, health minister Neil O'Brien <a href="https://twitter.com/BBCBreakfast/status/1655829037770584064">told the BBC</a> that “we’ve got 2,000 more doctors working in general practice than we did in 2019 before the pandemic”. But this figure <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-65531758">included trainee GPs</a> – and according to an <a href="https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/performance-tracker-2022-23/general-practice">analysis by the Institute for Government</a>, the qualified GP workforce has gained little from this increase because recently trained GPs are now leaving UK general practice at an unprecedented level. In its <a href="https://www.health.org.uk/sites/default/files/upload/publications/2023/Stressed%20and%20overworked_WEB.pdf">March 2023 report</a>, the Health Foundation concluded that, in England:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Despite repeated government pledges to increase the number of GPs … shortages are estimated at 4,200 and could grow to 8,800 by 2031 – around one in four projected GP posts.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>GPs as ‘conductors of the orchestra’</h2>
<blockquote>
<p>You have so little time to develop relationships with people – to get to know them as you could do in the past. That impacts on clinical decision-making as well – as every patient is new. So, you cannot take any risks. (Reflections of a GP and teaching facilitator)</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The GP practice as a continuously available social safety net – a place where doctors have a sense of who you are over a long period – increasingly feels like a thing of the past. In part, this may be a product of changing expectations in this “<a href="https://www2.deloitte.com/uk/en/pages/life-sciences-and-healthcare/articles/realising-digital-first-primary-care.html">digital first</a>” age of convenience. Relationship-based care by GPs with whom you can share the story of your life and that of your loved ones, even tangentially, may not be what young and fit people assume they need any more.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/534014/original/file-20230626-17-lr358i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Illustration of GP with a member of his surgery." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/534014/original/file-20230626-17-lr358i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/534014/original/file-20230626-17-lr358i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534014/original/file-20230626-17-lr358i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534014/original/file-20230626-17-lr358i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534014/original/file-20230626-17-lr358i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534014/original/file-20230626-17-lr358i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534014/original/file-20230626-17-lr358i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The traditional vision of GPs having a sense of ‘who you are’ over a long period feels increasingly outdated.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-vector/doctor-checks-blood-pressure-elderly-patient-687757363">ArtoPhotoDesigno Studio/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In fact, the average age of the UK population is rising, and with it the number of people requiring ongoing care for (often multiple) long-term conditions and increasingly complex care pathways. Yet the work of GPs has become increasingly shaped by requirements to follow standardised care pathways and achieve specific performance targets. This means the GP’s traditional role as “conductor” of the healthcare orchestra – as opposed to merely a “<a href="https://www.bmj.com/content/353/bmj.i2751">gatekeeper</a>” – is increasingly difficult to carry out.</p>
<p>An example of the everyday emergence of nuance and complexity in relationship-based care is illustrated in the following anonymised account of a patient seen by one of this article’s authors (Harm), when he worked as a practising GP:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Mr Wei, 59 years old and originally from Singapore, visits the surgery to discuss a cough. He is also hoarse. It is summer, and these problems have been going on for six weeks.</p>
<p>Mr Wei has lived in the UK for more than 30 years. For most of his life, he has smoked more than 30 cigarettes a day. He lives alone and works as a chef in a Chinese restaurant. He has to work very hard under less-than-optimal circumstances, and appears socially marginalised.</p>
<p>To the GP, it is not immediately clear what the purpose of Mr Wei’s visit is. He appears reluctant to discuss his symptoms, and says he isn’t worried about his health at all. But medically, the patient qualifies for an urgent ear, nose and throat referral to detect any early cancer, and the GP also suggests a chest X-ray. No abnormalities are found during these subsequent examinations.</p>
<p>A month later, Mr Wei returns to the GP surgery to discuss what next steps could be taken for his cough. But support to quit smoking is not an option, he says, as it helps him with his stress.</p>
<p>The GP explains there are no drugs that really work for cough. Mr Wei says he understands, and that Chinese medicine could not help him either. He says there are many complicated issues in his life, but that he cannot discuss them.</p>
<p>Mr Wei keeps coming back every three weeks over the next several months, usually with a new symptom of potentially significant medical concern, such as unexplained weight loss – another symptom that warrants an urgent referral.</p>
<p>Over the visits, a measure of mutual trust develops between GP and patient. Mr Wei is not looking for referrals, it transpires, but just wants the GP to be aware of each new symptom and take responsibility for them. In his previous clinical practice in the Netherlands, the GP (relying on clinical experience) would have assumed medical responsibility for deciding not to refer the patient in this situation.</p>
<p>However, in the UK, these many encounters play not only into a professional sense of guilt for spending a lot of time with this patient, but also of feeling “policed” – as if under obligation to respond in ways that were neither required nor wanted by the patient. The GP realises that the pervasive NHS “utility thinking”, with its focus on doing rather than listening, has entered his clinical awareness – and indeed, has overtaken it. His conclusion? It is time to stop practising as a GP.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Today’s GPs face an uphill struggle. Under severe time pressure, they are often unable to integrate the personal (the patient’s life story and relationship with the GP) with the medical (a hi-tech, interventionist approach that demands increasing levels of specialisation). This is how discontinuation and fragmentation win, and how the core value of general practice – connectedness through continuity – has been diminished or lost.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/533998/original/file-20230626-17-4usipo.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Book cover" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/533998/original/file-20230626-17-4usipo.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/533998/original/file-20230626-17-4usipo.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=946&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533998/original/file-20230626-17-4usipo.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=946&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533998/original/file-20230626-17-4usipo.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=946&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533998/original/file-20230626-17-4usipo.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1189&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533998/original/file-20230626-17-4usipo.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1189&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533998/original/file-20230626-17-4usipo.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1189&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>More than half a century on from John Berger’s influential 1967 work <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/feb/07/john-sassall-country-doctor-a-fortunate-man-john-berger-jean-mohr">A Fortunate Man</a>, about a country doctor who trained as a surgeon but became a good GP by listening to his patients, we increasingly regard quality of GP care as something quite different. These days, it is contained in data such as: how long patients wait for an appointment, how close their blood pressure or sugar levels are to recommended levels, or how optimised is their medication regimen.</p>
<p>For many GPs, having fewer opportunities to engage directly with patients has led to a loss of professional satisfaction. It is perhaps a symptom of a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/jul/08/trust-in-uk-healthcare-system-seriously-broken-inquiry-finds">loss of trust in medical professionals</a> that their performance has become so heavily measured by adherence to impersonalised rules, guidelines and protocols. This, of course, modifies definitions of what constitutes “good” general practice, and, in the view of many GPs, makes it more difficult for capable and committed professionals to deliver the care that patients want and need.</p>
<p>Once lost, trust and confidence take time to rebuild – or, as the Dutch saying goes, “trust comes on foot and leaves on horseback”. When so much of their effort is being diverted to satisfy intrusive monitoring, many GPs no longer consider themselves fortunate men or women.</p>
<h2>The impact on patients</h2>
<p>Patients are also suffering the ill-effects of the GP workforce crisis. The national <a href="https://www.gp-patient.co.uk/downloads/2022/GPPS_2022_National_report_PUBLIC.pdf">GP patient survey</a> has shown an unprecedented fall in their overall experience of general practice, with patients living in the most deprived areas reporting the least-positive experiences. </p>
<p>GPs themselves often express concern that their workforce pressures and heavy workloads are increasing the <a href="https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/en/publications/why-do-gps-leave-direct-patient-care-and-what-might-help-to-retai">risk to patient safety</a> – and, in the event of medical litigation, to their own professional accreditation. In the <a href="https://www.rcgp.org.uk/representing-you/key-statistics-insights">Royal College of GPs’ survey</a>, 65% of respondents said that patient safety is being compromised due to appointments being too short. In May 2023, the college’s incoming chair, Kamila Hawthorne, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/may/07/patients-getting-sicker-as-they-face-long-waits-for-nhs-care-says-top-gp">told the Guardian</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Patients getting sicker while they are on the waiting list is something GPs see and worry about … It could be someone awaiting a hip or knee replacement – often the waiting times for orthopaedics can be a year or two, so you know it’s going to take ages. They’ll tell you their toilet is upstairs and that to get up there, they’re having to crawl … Or that the pain is coming to the point where they can’t sleep at night. That’s the kind of thing we hear.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>GPs regularly deal with patients frustrated about long-delayed hospital appointments and procedures. Such issues were exacerbated by the pandemic, which also triggered an abrupt change in the way many GP consultations were carried out.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/533997/original/file-20230626-23-javbe2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="'Closed' signs on the door of a GP surgery" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/533997/original/file-20230626-23-javbe2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/533997/original/file-20230626-23-javbe2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533997/original/file-20230626-23-javbe2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533997/original/file-20230626-23-javbe2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533997/original/file-20230626-23-javbe2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533997/original/file-20230626-23-javbe2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533997/original/file-20230626-23-javbe2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A GP surgery closed by COVID in 2020.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/mansfield-uk-may-9-2020-stop-1745829095">Eddie Jordan Photos/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Early in 2020, a rapid switch from in-person to remote consultations was mandated by the UK government as part of efforts to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Initially, this was widely seen as a positive innovation that contributed to both patient and staff safety. However, by 2021, concerns were being <a href="https://bjgp.org/content/71/702/e1">raised in the media</a> about the quality and safety of this “remote consulting” system, as well as the digital inequalities it highlighted among the elderly and most vulnerable.</p>
<p>Numerous analyses of patients’ access to GP appointments continue to emerge. While national data indicates a <a href="https://www.pulsetoday.co.uk/news/workload/gps-provided-two-million-more-appointments-last-month-than-in-march-last-year/">significant increase</a> in the number of appointments (both in-person and remote) being provided, reports suggest that as many as <a href="https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/health/2023/01/quarter-of-patients-forced-into-ae-because-of-gp-waits">a quarter of accident & emergency patients</a> may have gone to hospital because of the length of GP waiting times, and that growing numbers of people are <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/may/19/patients-paying-550-an-hour-to-see-private-gps-amid-nhs-frustrations">turning to private GP services</a> “amid frustration at the delays getting an appointment with an NHS family doctor”. According to David Hare, chief-executive of the Independent Healthcare Providers Network: “Private GP services are one of the big growth areas of a burgeoning private healthcare sector.”</p>
<p>In January, GP Jenna Fowler <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/jan/29/nhs-workers-reveal-extent-of-workplace-pressures">told the Guardian</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>When I see or speak to a patient for the first time, I often spend the first few minutes explaining the situation or apologising for delays. Unfortunately, patient dissatisfaction has led to increased reports of abuse towards healthcare staff, which is upsetting and demoralising at a time when we are working so hard to do the best we can for our patients.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Following the death of Gail Milligan, a Surrey GP who took her own life in July 2022, her husband Chris spoke to the healthcare professionals website <a href="https://www.gponline.com/gp-wife-worked-herself-death-%E2%80%93-something-needs-change/article/1802504">GPonline</a> about the need to protect GPs from the extraordinary pressures now being placed on them – including from the public:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I would really want public opinion to start changing. I understand people being frustrated because they can’t get a doctor’s appointment, but they need to know the real story of what’s going on behind the scenes, and how hard these people are working – that doctors are dying to offer services they know aren’t up to scratch any more.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>A whole other level of stress</h2>
<blockquote>
<p>Being a GP now is just awful. You are hung out to dry. The risk is all yours … By introducing privatisation at scale, [the chancellor] Jeremy Hunt and his friends are bringing down what is to me a very valuable resource. American companies are now taking over chains of practices. (Reflection of a current GP)</p>
</blockquote>
<p>General practices operate under a nationally-agreed contract between the Department of Health and the British Medical Association (BMA) to deliver comprehensive healthcare to a registered set of patients (with some variations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland). The contract holders – typically, <a href="https://www.bmj.com/careers/article/the-bmj-s-guide-to-gp-partnerships#:%7E:text=A%20GP%20partner%20is%20a,for%20running%20their%20own%20practice.">GP partners</a> – bear responsibility for their practice’s business operations, including the expenses incurred in the employment of staff (clinical, managerial and administrative) and provision of premises.</p>
<p>This partnership model – the main legal structure for general practice since the NHS was established in 1948 – has proved resilient in the face of policy changes, and has successfully adapted in response to changing health priorities. But for the GP partners who make up just over half of all UK GP roles (compared with more than 40% who are in non-partner, employed positions), the relative freedom and opportunities of the partnership model come with a large amount of additional work – and the potential for stress and worry.</p>
<p>Most GP partners operating under this small business model feel far removed from national-level decision-making processes. Yet the business risks, contractual responsibilities and financial pressures they personally hold have increased significantly in recent decades. As Bob Hodges, a Gloucester GP, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/nov/27/stress-exhaustion-1000-patients-a-day-english-gp-nhs-collapse">told the Observer</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>There is always the threat in small partnerships of being the last man standing; if you are in a partnership of two and your partner resigns, then you have all the financial liability of an asset you are not allowed to sell.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Policies introduced by both Conservative and Labour governments have complicated the GP partnership model by focusing on solving particular problems – for example, prioritising speed of access over <a href="https://bjgp.org/content/bjgp/early/2020/08/10/bjgp20X712289.full.pdf">continuity of care</a>, leading to patchwork contractual arrangements and add-on payments. Meanwhile they have failed to resolve key issues such as the shortage of available GP appointments in <a href="https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/worsening-gp-shortages-in-disadvantaged-areas-likely-to-widen-health-inequalities#:%7E:text=Areas%20of%20high%20socioeconomic%20disadvantage,at%20the%20University%20of%20Cambridge.">areas of greater social deprivation and poorer health</a>.</p>
<p>The increased requirement for performance monitoring and target-driven performance incentives that accompanied the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2585462/">2004 version of the national GP contract</a> have also created much additional work for GP partners, making the prospect of running a sustainable general practice ever-more challenging.</p>
<p>Resources and facilities in many GP surgeries are also sub-standard. More than a third of GP respondents to the <a href="https://www.rcgp.org.uk/getmedia/1aeea016-9167-4765-9093-54a8ee8ae188/RCGP-Fit-for-the-Future-A-New-plan-for-General-Practice.pdf">Royal College of GPs survey</a> said their practice premises are not fit for purpose (38%), and that IT for booking systems are not good enough (34%).</p>
<p>Yet much of this slips under the radar – until, periodically, practices “fail” or <a href="https://www.thewestmorlandgazette.co.uk/news/20603107.gps-run-central-lakes-medical-group-resign-contract/">hand back a contract</a> when they can’t recruit sufficient staff to deliver a safe service.</p>
<p>The precarious financial status of general practice was highlighted during a <a href="https://www.pulsetoday.co.uk/news/politics/general-practice-not-massively-profitable-says-health-minister/?utm_content=buffer9eb55&utm_medium=organic%2520social&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=pulsesocial">recent House of Lords debate</a>. Responding to concerns that GP practices were at risk of being bought out by US companies, Nick Markham, a government health minister, <a href="https://www.theyworkforyou.com/lords/?id=2023-06-05a.1120.2&s=GPs#g1120.5">admitted</a> that “it is not a massively profitable area at the moment”.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, data on GP incomes contradicts <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9356701/NHS-GP-earning-700-000-year-one-hundreds-earning-Prime-Minister.html">some media suggestions</a> of “fat cat” salaries. When reduced hours and inflation are taken into account, <a href="https://bjgp.org/content/bjgp/70/690/e64.full.pdf">GP income reduced</a> by 10% for partner GPs and by 7% for salaried GPs between 2008 and 2017. In 2022, it was revealed that, despite the Department of Health’s recommendation of a pay rise for general practice staff, there would be <a href="https://www.pulsetoday.co.uk/news/breaking-news/gp-practices-will-not-get-funding-uplift-to-cover-staff-pay-rise-government-confirms/#:%7E:text=The%20five%2Dyear%20GP%20contract,4.5%25%20in%202022%2F23">no adjustment to practice funding</a> to reflect this.</p>
<h2>What can be done to address the GP crisis?</h2>
<blockquote>
<p>The first step to solving a problem is to acknowledge it, and we believe that general practice is in crisis. It is clear from the latest GP patient survey results that, despite the best efforts of GPs, the elastic has snapped after many years of pressure.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This <a href="https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/30383/documents/176291/default/">Future of General Practice</a> report, compiled by the cross-party <a href="https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/81/health-and-social-care-committee/">Health and Social Care Committee</a> after taking evidence from many sources, went on to conclude that:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Patients are facing unacceptably poor access to, and experiences of, general practice. Patient safety is at risk from these unsustainable pressures … [But] given their reluctance to acknowledge the crisis in general practice, we are not convinced that the government or NHS England are prepared to address the problems in the service with sufficient urgency.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>As academics working closely with GPs and listening to daily accounts of life on the “frontline”, we do not believe there is a magic solution to the challenges they face – but our research, observations and experience point to three key areas for action.</p>
<p><strong>1. Make general practice a more attractive career</strong></p>
<p>Job satisfaction for GPs is closely linked to having the time and space to <a href="https://bjgp.org/content/66/643/e136">achieve the professional standards they aspire to</a> – placing greater value on responding to the real-life needs of patients such as Mr Wei, than on achievement of incentivised targets that may be poorly aligned with patients’ needs.</p>
<p>While GPs are already distributing elements of their work to other trained staff, many continue to feel overwhelmed by administrative work of low clinical value, and by the volume of work now being <a href="https://academic.oup.com/pmj/article-abstract/98/1161/e14/6959026">transferred to them from other health providers</a>. For example, recommendations designed to reduce requests for GPs to take responsibility for checking patient investigations (rather than the hospital team who originated them) have so far had limited effect.</p>
<p><strong>2. Emphasise the importance of the ‘expert generalist’ role</strong></p>
<p>One of the most prominent policies to address the primary healthcare workforce crisis in England in recent years has been the <a href="https://www.journalslibrary.nihr.ac.uk/hsdr/YWTU6690/#/abstract">recruitment of different types of non-GP practitioner</a>, such as pharmacists, paramedics and physician associates. The idea is that, as less complex casework is diverted away to these other practitioners, GPs are able to spend more time dealing with complex cases.</p>
<p>However, our research shows that GPs’ overall workload and job satisfaction levels <a href="https://evidence.nihr.ac.uk/alert/gps-workload-did-not-improve-when-practices-employed-other-clinicians/">have not improved</a> through implementation of this policy, which also risks reducing the <a href="https://www.bmj.com/content/bmj/356/bmj.j84.full.pdf">continuity of a patient’s care</a>. It is a sticking plaster that cannot seamlessly fill the gaps arising from the GP crisis. </p>
<p>The newly-announced <a href="https://www.england.nhs.uk/2023/06/record-recruitment-and-reform-to-boost-patient-care-under-first-nhs-long-term-workforce-plan/">NHS Long Term Workforce Plan</a> promises ambitious ideas for different approaches to training clinical staff, as well as actions to improve staff retention across the NHS workforce in England. Sustainable work schedules, including adequate time for GPs to provide expert clinical support for colleagues, should be an integral part of this plan. </p>
<p>It is important that all practitioners entering general practice – whatever their specialism – receive training and experience to prepare them for the immense breadth of general practice casework. The importance of the “expert generalist” role must not be lost in any restructuring of the primary care workforce.</p>
<p><strong>3. Give GPs more choice in how to run their practice</strong></p>
<p>In recent years, there has been a gradual reduction in the <a href="https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/general-and-personal-medical-services/31-march-2023">proportion of GPs who work as GP partners</a>. Pointing to this decline, some health commentators suggest this contractual model is <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/8de41b21-1bc1-478d-ad1d-0f010eeb37af?shareType=nongift">no longer the best way to organise general practice</a>. The threatened closure of GP practices has, on occasion, seen community trusts (or other bodies) take over these practices, offering GPs an option to work <a href="https://www.health.org.uk/news-and-comment/blogs/should-nhs-trusts-manage-general-practice">under different contractual conditions</a>.</p>
<p>However, the Royal College of GPs remains positive about the “exceptional” added value brought to general practice by GP partners who, often at personal cost, are committed to supporting their staff and serving their communities. The cost-effectiveness of this contractual model was confirmed by an <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/770916/gp-partnership-review-final-report.pdf">independent review of GP partnerships</a> in 2019.</p>
<p>Ultimately, whichever model (or combination of models) is adopted, turning the tide for general practice demands a clearer understanding of the GP’s role and how to support it. This includes motivating and empowering the general public towards healthier lifestyles – and, if capacity and capability of the GP workforce can be increased, rebuilding public confidence in this frontline of healthcare. The situation is critical.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/313478/original/file-20200204-41481-1n8vco4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/313478/original/file-20200204-41481-1n8vco4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=112&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313478/original/file-20200204-41481-1n8vco4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=112&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313478/original/file-20200204-41481-1n8vco4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=112&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313478/original/file-20200204-41481-1n8vco4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=140&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313478/original/file-20200204-41481-1n8vco4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=140&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313478/original/file-20200204-41481-1n8vco4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=140&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><em>For you: more from our <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/insights-series-71218?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=TCUKengagement&utm_content=InsightsUK">Insights series</a>:</em></p>
<ul>
<li><p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/would-better-buildings-help-fix-the-nhs-the-story-of-britains-hospitals-from-grand-designs-to-counting-the-costs-208090?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=TCUKengagement&utm_content=InsightsUK">Would better buildings help fix the NHS? The story of Britain’s hospitals, from grand designs to counting the costs</a></em></p></li>
<li><p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/its-like-being-in-a-warzone-aande-nurses-open-up-about-the-emotional-cost-of-working-on-the-nhs-frontline-194197?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=TCUKengagement&utm_content=InsightsUK">‘It’s like being in a warzone’ – A&E nurses open up about the emotional cost of working on the NHS frontline</a></em></p></li>
<li><p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/the-inside-story-of-recovery-how-the-worlds-largest-covid-19-trial-transformed-treatment-and-what-it-could-do-for-other-diseases-184772?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=TCUKengagement&utm_content=InsightsUK">The inside story of Recovery: how the world’s largest COVID-19 trial transformed treatment – and what it could do for other diseases
</a></em></p></li>
</ul>
<p><em>To hear about new Insights articles, join the hundreds of thousands of people who value The Conversation’s evidence-based news. <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/the-daily-newsletter-2?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=TCUKengagement&utm_content=InsightsUK"><strong>Subscribe to our newsletter</strong></a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/208197/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sharon Spooner has received funding across several projects from the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and The School for Primary Care Research through the University of Manchester. The views expressed here are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR, the Department of Health and Social Care or the Health Education England. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Harm van Marwijk was supported by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Applied Research Collaboration Kent, Surrey, Sussex. The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Imelda Mcdermott receives funding from the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and Health Education England (HEE) through the University of Manchester. The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR, the Department of Health and Social Care or the Health Education England. </span></em></p>The new NHS workforce plan for England promises a 50% increase in GP training places by 2031. But the challenges GPs are wrestling with go much deeper.Sharon Spooner, Clinical Lecturer, Division of Population Health, Health Services Research & Primary Care, University of ManchesterHarm van Marwijk, Professor in Primary Care, Brighton and Sussex Medical SchoolImelda Mcdermott, Research Fellow, Division of Population Health, Health Services Research & Primary Care, University of ManchesterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2067612023-06-04T20:05:15Z2023-06-04T20:05:15Z10 Australian companies have embraced the 4-day week. Here’s what they say about it<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529737/original/file-20230602-15-v1dr3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C278%2C4765%2C2468&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Most of us look forward to a rare long weekend. But some Australians now enjoy a four-day week every week.</p>
<p>They’re lucky enough to work for the small number of organisations that are trialling or have permanently adopted what is known as the 100:80:100 model, in which employees keep 100% of what they were paid for five days while working 80% of their former hours – so long as they maintain 100% productivity.</p>
<p>This model has been attracting significant global attention. There have been glowing reports in the past few years about the success of trials <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-success-of-icelands-four-day-week-trial-has-been-greatly-overstated-164083">in Iceland</a>, the United Kingdom and elsewhere. Some of this reporting, however, has exaggerated the findings or failed to consider the complicating factors that may not make the model scalable.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/4-day-work-week-trials-have-been-labelled-a-resounding-success-but-4-big-questions-need-answers-201476">4-day work week trials have been labelled a ‘resounding success’. But 4 big questions need answers</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>To get a better sense of the reality, we’ve surveyed ten Australian organisations that have embraced the model. </p>
<p>We interviewed senior managers in each organisation about the benefits and challenges experienced. So our results do reflect a management perspective. But what they told us suggests the four-day work week can successfully deliver positive outcomes for both employers and employees across a range of different industries.</p>
<h2>Who we surveyed</h2>
<p>Four of the ten organisations in our <a href="https://doi.org/10.26185/wm6x-tk60">research</a> have adopted the change permanently after trials. The other six have extended their trials, though are still to formally make the move permanent.</p>
<p>We believe these ten organisations represent the bulk of Australian organisations using the 100:80:100 model. There may be others, but we looked hard to ensure our survey was as complete as possible. Four of the companies were part of <a href="https://www.4dayweek.com/">the global studies</a> referred to above. The other six weren’t, designing their own pilot schemes. </p>
<p>All are private-sector businesses. Two are management consulting firms, with the others being a shipping/logistics company; recruitment agency; marketing agency; mental health coaching company; software development company; creative design agency; health-care company, and management training company.</p>
<p>Six of the companies are small businesses (with fewer than 20 employees). The other four are medium-sized businesses (20-199 employees).</p>
<p>In each case, the initiatives were management-led, as a strategy to tackle employee burnout, increase productivity, and keep and attract talent in a tight labour market.</p>
<p>For example, <a href="https://eescair.com/">EES Shipping</a>, a medium-sized logistics company based in Perth, decided to trial a four-day week in July 2022, at a time of extreme pressure on global and local supply chains.</p>
<p>“We were starting to see cracks within the industry,” said managing director Brian Hack. “People were burning out, truck drivers were just walking out the door, and I really didn’t want to see that happen here.” </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-the-jetsons-got-right-and-very-wrong-about-the-future-of-work-202608">What The Jetsons got right, and very wrong, about the future of work</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>No lost productivity</h2>
<p>Three of the ten managers reported no loss of productivity despite a 20% reduction in hours – so effectively staff were about 20% more productive.</p>
<p>The other seven reported productivity being even higher than before.</p>
<p>Six said improvements in recruitment and retention had been the biggest success of the initiative so far. Five underlined important reductions in absenteeism.</p>
<p>Three companies needed to maintain their previous hours of availability for customers and clients, despite their staff now working 20% less time. This illustrates it is possible for “client-facing” organisations to implement four-day work weeks.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Three 'client-facing' companies maintained opening hours while reducing working hours." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529738/original/file-20230602-19-yiwvx9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529738/original/file-20230602-19-yiwvx9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529738/original/file-20230602-19-yiwvx9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529738/original/file-20230602-19-yiwvx9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529738/original/file-20230602-19-yiwvx9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529738/original/file-20230602-19-yiwvx9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529738/original/file-20230602-19-yiwvx9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Three ‘client-facing’ companies maintained opening hours while reducing working hours.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Workers’ response</h2>
<p>Based on internal surveys and anecdotal evidence, managers reported the extra day off each week meant workers felt more relaxed and re-energised, and helped avoid the “<a href="https://theconversation.com/three-ways-to-tackle-the-sunday-scaries-the-anxiety-and-dread-many-people-feel-at-the-end-of-the-weekend-187313">Sunday scaries</a>” – the anxiety and dread felt on Sunday night at the prospect of another five-day week. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/three-ways-to-tackle-the-sunday-scaries-the-anxiety-and-dread-many-people-feel-at-the-end-of-the-weekend-187313">Three ways to tackle the 'Sunday scaries', the anxiety and dread many people feel at the end of the weekend</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>These are significant findings, given the <a href="https://www.work-futures.org/publications">record levels of stress and burnout</a> in Australian workplaces.</p>
<h2>Scepticism remains</h2>
<p>But there are also challenges facing any organisation wanting to adopt a four-day work week. Participating managers said the biggest barrier was overcoming scepticism both internally and from external stakeholders such as clients and customers. The biggest point of resistance was people simply not believing fewer hours didn’t have to mean lower productivity. </p>
<p>Overcoming that scepticism is likely to require more evidence from trials – including from larger companies, to see if the benefits reported by these small companies are scalable to the whole workforce. </p>
<p>One such trial is in the pipeline, though it will be of limited value.</p>
<p>Australia’s biggest hardware retailer, Bunnings, last month <a href="https://www.afr.com/work-and-careers/workplace/bunnings-agrees-to-trial-four-day-week-in-landmark-deal-20230519-p5d9sf">signed an agreement</a> with the <a href="https://www.sda.org.au/">Shop Distributive and Allied Employees Association</a> for a four-day work week trial. The company’s 40,000 employees, however, won’t be trialling the 100:80:100 model. They’ll be working the same number of hours over fewer days. So it won’t be possible to draw substantial conclusions from the outcome.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-life-of-long-weekends-is-alluring-but-the-shorter-working-day-may-be-more-practical-127817">A life of long weekends is alluring, but the shorter working day may be more practical</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>And while the “client-facing” companies we surveyed managed to maintain their operations, it remains to be seen if that’s the case for all workplaces, such as shops, hospitals and nursing homes where any reduction in hours worked by current employees would probably need to be covered by additional staff.</p>
<p>The only way to be sure will be through trials.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/206761/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>John L Hopkins does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>New research from Swinburne University suggests the four-day work week really can be win-win for workers and bosses.John L Hopkins, Associate professor, Swinburne University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2038572023-05-25T08:54:02Z2023-05-25T08:54:02ZNot all interruptions are bad: how surprise breaks can unleash creativity at work<p>Interruptions are an inevitable part of working life. Some last a short time – a phone call, an urgent task, or a colleague stopping by for a chat. While these can take a brief toll on productivity, extended interruptions such as supply-chain issues, extreme weather or machinery breakdowns, can have a more significant impact. But what if there were a silver lining?</p>
<p>In <a href="https://pubsonline.informs.org/doi/abs/10.1287/orsc.2023.1660">our research</a> at the Hamburg University of Technology, we were curious to explore how different types of disruptions can influence employees’ creative performance and how one can even harness them to boost innovation at work.</p>
<h2>Differentiating interruptions</h2>
<p><a href="https://journals.aom.org/doi/10.5465/annals.2017.0146">Not all interruptions are the same</a> and they can be broadly differentiated based on two characteristics: whether they allow for idle time or not, and whether they are unexpected or not. We can therefore distinguish three types of extended interruptions:</p>
<ul>
<li><p><em>Surprises</em> are unexpected interruptions that release idle time and allow employees’ minds to wander. A supply-chain disruption leading to a temporary halt in production might qualify as one, for example, or a power outage that requires a pause until electricity is restored. A critical software system going down could also be considered a surprise, as they prevent employees from completing their daily tasks.</p></li>
<li><p><em>Intrusions</em> are unexpected interruptions that do not come with idle time. They typically require employees to switch their attention to the new, pressing issue. These can negatively impact creativity, as employees’ focus is diverted away from their original tasks. Examples of intrusions include urgent client requests, where a high-priority client suddenly requires immediate assistance to resolve an issue with their order or service. Employees must pause their tasks and address the client’s concerns promptly. Another example is an emergency meeting in response to a sudden crisis.</p></li>
<li><p><em>Planned breaks</em> represent expected interruptions with idle time. They are scheduled and deliberate, allowing employees to step away from their work and focus on personal activities or goals and play a crucial role in employee well-being and work-life balance. Examples of planned breaks include vacations, public holidays or company-wide breaks.</p></li>
</ul>
<h2>The impact of different interruptions on creativity</h2>
<p>By examining the effects of these interruptions on employees’ performance, we can identify which ones have the potential to boost innovation and how organizations can best manage them.</p>
<p>Conducted at a manufacturer in the automotive industry, <a href="https://pubsonline.informs.org/doi/abs/10.1287/orsc.2023.1660">our research</a> investigates the creative outputs of employees during various interruptions. We used natural experiments, exploiting events such as supply-chain shortages, extreme weather events, and school breaks to explore how different types of interruptions impact creative performance.</p>
<p>Our findings suggest that <em>surprises</em> with idle time can significantly increase employees’ creative performance, understood here as the number and quality of ideas they put forward to improve their firm’s products and services. We found that individuals exposed to such interruptions generated 58% more ideas than their uninterrupted peers in the three weeks following the disruption. This boost in creativity is attributed to continued thinking about work and maintaining work goals during the interruption, which enables idea incubation.</p>
<p>In contrast, <em>intrusions</em> harm creativity. When employees are forced to switch their attention to the incoming task, their attention residue – or the amount of attention that lingers on the interrupted task – drops, reducing their creative performance.</p>
<p>As for <em>planned breaks</em>, such as vacations or school holidays, we found that they do not positively affect creative performance. During these expected interruptions, employees tend to disengage from work and focus on non-work-related goals, which lowers attention residue and hinders idea incubation. This comes nevertheless with the important caveat that breaks remain essential for employee well-being and rejuvenation.</p>
<p>But why is it that some interruptions are conducive to creative performance while others are not? One answer may lie in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2009.04.002">attention residue theory</a>, which posits that some attention lingers on an interrupted task even after the individual has shifted focus elsewhere. This lingering attention can help ideas incubate and foster creative thinking. With extended interruptions, the amount of attention residue depends on whether the interruption allows for idle time and whether it is unexpected or not.</p>
<p>During surprises, employees have idle time to think about their work and keep their work goals active, which results in higher attention residue and increased creative performance. In contrast, during intrusions, attention residue is reduced as employees must focus on the incoming task. Similarly, during planned breaks, attention residue decreases as employees disengage from work and concentrate on non-work goals.</p>
<h2>The art of interruption: a rulebook</h2>
<p>The good news is that it is possible for organisations to stir up creativity by applying a series of guidelines:</p>
<ul>
<li><p><em>Surprises</em>: When unforeseen events free up time, organisations can encourage employees to use it to reflect on their work and generate new ideas. One way for management to go about this is provide tools and resources that encourage idle pondering, such as access to idea submission systems, brainstorming sessions after the interruption, or quiet spaces for contemplation.</p></li>
<li><p><em>Intrusions</em>: Management ought to establish clear priorities and minimize distractions during an intrusion to enable employees to concentrate on the task at hand. Before attending to an intrusion, <a href="https://pubsonline.informs.org/doi/abs/10.1287/orsc.2017.1184">ready-to-resume plans</a> in which one notes where work has been left off help to resume the original task. Once the interruption ends, support re-engagement with original work by having people reflect how they will resume the original task or promoting collaboration and communication among colleagues.</p></li>
<li><p><em>Planned breaks</em>: Organizations should encourage employees to disconnect from work during vacations and other scheduled breaks to recharge and maintain a healthy work-life balance. Upon returning from a break, create opportunities for employees to share their experiences, insights, or inspirations, potentially sparking new ideas or fostering a creative mindset.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Extended interruptions are an unavoidable part of working life. However, by understanding their impact on creativity and implementing strategies to leverage their potential, one can transform these disruptions into rich opportunities. By embracing surprises, managing attention during intrusions, and encouraging deliberate disconnection during planned breaks, organizations can unleash the creative potential of their employees and foster a more innovative work environment.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/203857/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tim Schweisfurth has received funding from Tempowerk, Hamburg, Germany</span></em></p>Has your computer just crashed and you are waiting for it to reboot? If so, do not despair. In fact, recent research shows surprise interruptions might even boost your creativity.Tim Schweisfurth, Full Professor in Organizational Design and Collaboration Engineering, University of TwenteLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2014762023-03-23T19:06:08Z2023-03-23T19:06:08Z4-day work week trials have been labelled a ‘resounding success’. But 4 big questions need answers<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515066/original/file-20230314-2882-t7f1n0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C183%2C3145%2C1584&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>A little more than a century ago, most people in industrialised countries worked 60 hours a week – six ten-hour days. A 40-hour work week of five eight-hour days became the norm, along with increased paid holidays, in the 1950s. </p>
<p>These changes were made possible by massive increases in productivity and hard-fought struggles by workers with bosses for a fair share of the expanding economic pie. </p>
<p>In the 1960s and ‘70s it was expected that this pattern would continue. It was even anticipated that, by the year 2000, there would be a “<a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02614367.2022.2094997">leisure society</a>”. Instead, the trend towards reduced working hours ground to a halt. </p>
<p>But now there are suggestions we are on the cusp of another great leap forward – a 32-hour, four-day week for the same pay as working five days. This is sometimes referred to as the “100-80-100” model. You will continue to be paid 100% of your wages in return for working 80% of the hours but maintaining 100% production.</p>
<p>In Spain and Scotland, political parties have won elections with the promise of trialling a four-day week, although a similar move in the 2019 UK general election was unsuccessful. In Australia, a Senate committee inquiry <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Work_and_Care/workandcare/Report">has recommended</a> a national trial of the four-day week. </p>
<p>Hopes of the four-day week becoming reality have been buoyed by glowing reports about the success of four-day week trials, in which employers have reported cutting hours but maintaining productivity.</p>
<p>However, impressive as the trial results may appear, it’s still not clear whether the model would work across the economy. </p>
<h2>An employer-led movement</h2>
<p>Unlike previous campaigns for a shorter work week, the four-day workweek movement is being led by employers in a few, mainly English-speaking, countries. Notable is Andrew Barnes, owner of a New Zealand financial services company, who founded the “<a href="https://www.4dayweek.com/">4-Day Week Global</a>” organisation. </p>
<p>It has coordinated a program of four-day week trials in six countries (Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States). Almost 100 companies and more than 3,000 employees have been involved. (A highly publicised <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-success-of-icelands-four-day-week-trial-has-been-greatly-overstated-164083">trial in Iceland</a> was not coordinated by it.)</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-success-of-icelands-four-day-week-trial-has-been-greatly-overstated-164083">The success of Iceland's 'four-day week' trial has been greatly overstated</a>
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<p>These trials are being monitored by an “international collaboration” of research teams at three universities: Boston College, Cambridge University, and University College Dublin. The Boston College team is led by work-time/leisure-time guru Juliet Schor, author of the 1991 bestseller <a href="https://www.basicbooks.com/titles/juliet-b-schor/the-overworked-american/9780465054343/">The Overworked American</a>. </p>
<p>A number of reports have been published, including <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/60b956cbe7bf6f2efd86b04e/t/6387a0e53881be1284cb046e/1669832945858/The+Four+Day+Week-+Assessing+Global+Trials+of+Reduced+Work+Time+with+No+Reduction+in+Pay+%E2%80%93+A+%E2%80%93+30112022.pdf">one “global” report</a> covering all six countries, and separate reports for <a href="https://autonomy.work/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/The-results-are-in-The-UKs-four-day-week-pilot.pdf">the UK</a> and <a href="https://www.forsa.ie/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/4DayWeekAssessingGlobalTrials-1.pdf">Ireland</a>. A report on the Australian trial is promised for April. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/517086/original/file-20230323-20-6x0q6p.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="The latest report from the 4 Day Week Global organisation." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/517086/original/file-20230323-20-6x0q6p.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/517086/original/file-20230323-20-6x0q6p.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=849&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517086/original/file-20230323-20-6x0q6p.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=849&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517086/original/file-20230323-20-6x0q6p.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=849&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517086/original/file-20230323-20-6x0q6p.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1067&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517086/original/file-20230323-20-6x0q6p.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1067&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517086/original/file-20230323-20-6x0q6p.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1067&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">The latest report from the 4 Day Week Global organisation.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.4dayweek.com/">4 Day Week Global</a></span>
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<p>Overall, these reports have declared the trials a “resounding success” – both for employers and employees.</p>
<p>Employees, unsurprisingly, were overwhelmingly positive. They reported less stress, burnout, fatigue and work-family conflict, and better physical and mental health. </p>
<p>More significant were the employers’ responses. They have generally reported improved employee morale and no loss of revenue. Nearly all have committed to, or are considering, continuing with the four-day-week model.</p>
<h2>Four big questions</h2>
<p>The trials do not, however, answer all the questions about the viability of the four-day week. The four main ones are as follows.</p>
<p>First, are the research results reliable? </p>
<p>Employers and employees were surveyed at the start, halfway through and at the end of the six-month trials. But only about half of the employees and two-thirds of employers completed the vital final round. So there’s some uncertainty about their representativeness.</p>
<p>Second, did the participating firms demonstrate the key productivity proposition: an increase of almost 20% in output per employee per hour worked? </p>
<p>The firms involved were not asked to provide “output” data, just revenue. This may be a reasonable substitute. But it may also have been affected by price movements (inflation was on the march in 2022). </p>
<p>Third, for those firms that achieved the claimed productivity increase, how did it come about? And is it sustainable? </p>
<p>Proponents of the four-day week argue that employees are more productive because they work in a more concentrated way, ignoring distractions. A much longer period than six months will be needed to establish whether this more intense work pattern is sustainable. </p>
<p>Fourth, is the four-day model likely to be applicable across the whole economy? </p>
<p>This is the key question, the answer to which will only emerge over time. The organisations involved in the trials were self-selected and unrepresentative of the economy as a whole. They employed mostly office-based workers. Almost four-fifths were in managerial, professional, IT and clerical occupations. Organisations in other sectors, with different occupational profiles, may find increased productivity through more intensive working difficult to emulate. </p>
<p>Take manufacturing: only three firms from this sector were included in the large UK trial. Since manufacturing has been subject to efficiency studies and labour-saving investment for a century or more, an overall 20% “efficiency gain” to be had across the board seems unlikely. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="The productivity gains achieved in office environments may harder to replicate in other settings such as manufacturing." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/517089/original/file-20230323-28-c76ppm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/517089/original/file-20230323-28-c76ppm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517089/original/file-20230323-28-c76ppm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517089/original/file-20230323-28-c76ppm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517089/original/file-20230323-28-c76ppm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517089/original/file-20230323-28-c76ppm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517089/original/file-20230323-28-c76ppm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The productivity gains achieved in office environments may harder to replicate in other settings such as manufacturing.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>Then there are sectors that provide face-to-face services to the public, often seven days a week. They cannot close for a day, and their work intensity is often governed by health and safety concerns. Reduced hours are unlikely to be covered by individual productivity increases. To maintain operating hours, either staff will have to work overtime or more staff would need to be employed. </p>
<p>As for the public sector, in Australia and other countries “efficiency savings” involving budget cuts of about 2% a year have been common for decades. Any “slack” is likely to have been already squeezed out of the system. Again, reducing standard hours would result in the need to pay overtime rates or recruit extra staff, at extra cost.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-life-of-long-weekends-is-alluring-but-the-shorter-working-day-may-be-more-practical-127817">A life of long weekends is alluring, but the shorter working day may be more practical</a>
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<h2>So what now?</h2>
<p>This does not mean the four-day week could not spread through the economy. </p>
<p>One scenario is that it could spread in those workplaces and sectors where productivity gains are achievable. </p>
<p>Those employers and sectors not offering reduced hours would find it harder to recruit staff. They would need to reduce hours, perhaps by stages, to compete. In the absence of productivity gains, they would be forced to absorb the extra costs or pass them on in increased prices. </p>
<p>The pace at which such change takes place would depend, as it always has, on the level of economic growth, productivity trends and labour market conditions.</p>
<p>But it is unlikely to happen overnight. And, as always, it will be accompanied by many employers and their representatives claiming the sky is about to fall in.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/201476/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anthony Veal does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Impressive as results from four-day work-week trials may appear, it’s still not clear if they would apply across the economy.Anthony Veal, Adjunct Professor, Business School, University of Technology SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1999442023-03-14T12:23:18Z2023-03-14T12:23:18ZHealth care workers are frazzled – and poor sleep may turn stress into poor mental health<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/513979/original/file-20230307-299-27ac53.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C2121%2C1412&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Shift work and long hours are common working conditions in health care.
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/tired-exhausted-female-african-scrub-nurse-wears-royalty-free-image/1263847899">insta_photos/iStock via Getty Images Plus</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Health care workers often put the health and safety of their patients first, neglecting to take care of themselves. By providing continuous services around the clock, many experience short and poor-quality sleep, risking not only their own health and safety but also <a href="https://theconversation.com/lack-of-sleep-is-harming-health-care-workers-and-their-patients-160421">increasing the risk of making errors</a> that can affect patient safety.</p>
<p>I am an <a href="https://www.uml.edu/health-sciences/nursing/faculty/zhang-yuan.aspx">occupational health researcher</a> who studies work, sleep and health among health care workers. My research has found that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/21650799211014768">emotional labor</a> – such as using fake smiles to hide true feelings – and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/21650799221139998">work-family conflict</a> – such as clashing demands between roles at work and at home – are both linked to depressive symptoms among health care workers. And poor sleep quality can amplify the effects of these stressors, resulting in worse mental health.</p>
<h2>Health care workers face multiple challenges</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/flex2.t07.htm">Shift work and long hours</a> are common components of a health care job. Night or rotating shifts that require being awake during the night and sleeping during the day can misalign the <a href="https://theconversation.com/your-body-has-an-internal-clock-that-dictates-when-you-eat-sleep-and-might-have-a-heart-attack-all-based-on-time-of-day-178601">biological clock</a>, which is typically oriented to wake during the day and sleep during the night. This mismatch can result in sleepiness and impaired performance at work, along with <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/oem.58.1.68">poor and shortened sleep</a> during the day.</p>
<p>Moreover, health care workers can face many other <a href="https://www.osha.gov/healthcare">work stressors</a>, such as exposure to infectious diseases and chemical hazards, bullying and violence, high physical workloads and time pressure. These require learning to manage emotions and feelings during interactions with patients and co-workers. </p>
<p>Even so, some professionals in various fields may need to <a href="https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520272941/the-managed-heart">repress their own emotions</a> in order to do their work effectively. In our study of over 1,000 U.S. public sector health care workers who directly and indirectly work with patients, my research team and I found that over half had to mask their feelings at work without addressing them, and increasing levels of emotional labor were linked to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/21650799211014768">increasing symptoms of depression</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/514014/original/file-20230307-2352-dqr1v4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Two health care workers on the phone at computer hub, one with hand covering eyes." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/514014/original/file-20230307-2352-dqr1v4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/514014/original/file-20230307-2352-dqr1v4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=440&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514014/original/file-20230307-2352-dqr1v4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=440&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514014/original/file-20230307-2352-dqr1v4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=440&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514014/original/file-20230307-2352-dqr1v4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=553&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514014/original/file-20230307-2352-dqr1v4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=553&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514014/original/file-20230307-2352-dqr1v4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=553&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Health care workers face a number of stressors that can affect their physical and mental health.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/every-job-can-lead-to-burnout-royalty-free-image/1045200250">Reza Estakhrian/The Image Bank via Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>In addition, health care workers often experience conflicting demands between their work and family roles. For example, a parent may need to take time off from work to take care of a sick child. Research on U.S. workers has found that work-family conflict can have <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-017-1716-z">adverse physical and mental health effects</a>. </p>
<p>In our study, about half of the health care workers we surveyed reported that their work interfered with their family life, while about 30% experienced family life interfering with work. Importantly, these conflicts were linked to poor mental health <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/21650799221139998">such as depression</a>.</p>
<h2>Poor sleep and mental health</h2>
<p>The U.S. National Health Interview Survey, an annual household interview of adults conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, found that 36% of workers had an average sleep duration of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-019-00731-9">less than seven hours a day</a> in 2018. A <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/sleep/about_sleep/how_much_sleep.html">minimum of seven hours of sleep</a> is recommended for optimum health and well-being. Sleep deprivation is increased among health care workers, affecting 45% of those surveyed. Our research found an <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/21650799221139998">even higher rate</a>: Over half of the health care workers we studied reported fewer than seven hours of sleep per day, and one-third complained of sleep disturbances.</p>
<p>Moreover, we found that one-quarter of these health care workers experienced depressive symptoms, a rate three times higher than the <a href="https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/major-depression">depression prevalence</a> of the general U.S. population.</p>
<p>Sleep plays a critical role in mental health. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/da.22386">Short</a> or <a href="https://doi.org/10.5665/sleep.2810">poor</a> sleep is a strong risk factor for depression and poor mental well-being. And it is well known that <a href="https://www.verywellmind.com/relationship-between-stress-and-sleep-3144945">stress can interfere with sleep quality</a>. Our study found that disturbed sleep intensified the effect of work stressors such as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/21650799211014768">emotional labor</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/21650799221139998">work-family conflict</a> on the depressive symptoms of health care workers. That is to say, these work stressors may both directly affect health care workers’ mental health and indirectly affect mental health by harming their sleep.</p>
<h2>How can health care workers improve their sleep?</h2>
<p>The most common <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s13167-016-0064-4">nondrug-based recommendations</a> to improve the sleep of shift workers include scheduling, bright light exposure, napping, sleep hygiene education and cognitive behavioral therapy. </p>
<p>There is no concrete evidence yet available on the best sleep schedule for health care workers on night or rotating shifts. However, while most night workers begin their daytime sleep shortly after returning home in the morning, laboratory studies on older adults found better night shift <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/oemed-2019-105916">alertness and performance</a> and <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/oemed-2016-103712">longer sleep duration</a> with an afternoon-evening sleep schedule.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/514020/original/file-20230307-247-we2ges.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Health care worker sleeping at computer in nursing station" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/514020/original/file-20230307-247-we2ges.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/514020/original/file-20230307-247-we2ges.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514020/original/file-20230307-247-we2ges.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514020/original/file-20230307-247-we2ges.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514020/original/file-20230307-247-we2ges.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514020/original/file-20230307-247-we2ges.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514020/original/file-20230307-247-we2ges.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Some health care workers squeeze in sleep wherever they can.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/medical-staff-member-stephanie-takes-a-short-nap-in-nursing-news-photo/1230130990">Go Nakamura/Stringer via Getty Images News</a></span>
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<p>Based on those findings, my research team is <a href="https://nightwork.partners.org/">currently testing</a> the effectiveness of an afternoon-evening sleep schedule in real-world settings for health care workers who are regularly working nights. We are also exploring whether such a sleep schedule is acceptable to health care workers and easy enough to integrate into their daily lives.</p>
<h2>Workplace is critical to improving sleep</h2>
<p>Building a healthy work environment is a critical and meaningful way to improve sleep. A large number of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/21650799221139998">work stressors</a> – such as shift work, work demands, lack of social support, workplace hazards and negative behaviors of co-workers – all contribute to the poor sleep of health care workers. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.cdc.gov/workplacehealthpromotion/index.html">Evidence-based workplace programs</a> that prevent workplace violence, provide emotional support after difficult incidents and offer flexible scheduling could all help reduce the underlying problems behind poor sleep. Workplaces may consider an <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/annweh/wxaa003">integrated approach</a> that both reduces work-related stressors and promotes the sleep and health of their workers. For example, a healthy workplace may allow their employees to select their own work schedules and provide training on sleep hygiene.</p>
<p>Moreover, many sleep promotion programs need the workplace to get involved. Sleep education requires employer support, and light exposure and nap rooms require environmental changes in the workspace. Allowing workers to <a href="https://doi.org/10.3928/00989134-20160308-03">participate in the decision-making process</a> may encourage them to get involved and take action to improve their own health, which could transform sleep and overall health for workers, especially those in the medical field.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/199944/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Yuan Zhang receives funding from the National Institute of Health (NIH) Grant Number R01 AG044416 and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Grant Number 2 U19 OH008857. </span></em></p>Disturbed sleep can worsen depressive symptoms of health care workers whose jobs come with high levels of emotional labor and work-family conflict.Yuan Zhang, Associate Professor of Nursing, UMass LowellLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1983622023-02-16T06:10:42Z2023-02-16T06:10:42ZHow running can help you cope with stress at work<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507333/original/file-20230131-4694-n9up99.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C14%2C4860%2C3288&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/three-runners-sprinting-outdoors-sportive-people-1105303070">oneinchpunch/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>If grabbing your trainers and heading out for a run is your way of coping with a stressful week at work, you’re not alone. According to England Athletics, more than <a href="https://www.englandathletics.org/insight/2020/02/05/running-today-how-it-has-changed/">six million adults</a> in England ran at least once a week in 2021, and around two-thirds cite reducing stress as a reason for running. </p>
<p>Running is a valuable way to help us deal with stress, including from our jobs. <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/2159676X.2021.1924244">Our research</a> investigated how taking part in “<a href="https://www.parkrun.org.uk/">parkrun</a>” – a weekly organised mass 5km run held globally – affected employees from a range of organisation sizes and types. It shows that running can help us to manage the expectations, frustrations and pressures of contemporary work more effectively. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/explore-mental-health/mental-health-statistics/mental-health-work-statistics">Research</a> suggests that one in seven of us experience mental health problems associated with their work. And <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0019793920977850">research also shows</a> that our work lives are becoming more intense – we face the expectation to <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/irj.12364">get more done at work</a> and to do it more quickly. This may make us feel as though we are never quite good enough, and it sets us up for failure. Repeated failure can translate into us feeling that we ourselves are a failure. </p>
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<img alt="Quarter life, a series by The Conversation" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><em><strong><a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/quarter-life-117947?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">This article is part of Quarter Life</a></strong>, a series about issues affecting those of us in our twenties and thirties. From the challenges of beginning a career and taking care of our mental health, to the excitement of starting a family, adopting a pet or just making friends as an adult. The articles in this series explore the questions and bring answers as we navigate this turbulent period of life.</em></p>
<p><em>You may be interested in:</em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/barbell-exercises-arent-essential-for-getting-fit-heres-what-you-can-do-instead-181743?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">Barbell exercises aren’t essential for getting fit – here’s what you can do instead</a></em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/getting-fit-after-covid-why-you-should-be-strength-training-and-how-to-do-it-190689?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">Getting fit after COVID? Why you should be strength training – and how to do it</a></em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/philosophy-can-help-us-deal-with-failures-that-seem-insurmountable-193351?notice=Article+has+been+updated.?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">Philosophy can help us deal with failures that seem insurmountable</a></em></p>
<hr>
<p>All this erodes our sense of purpose in life. This means that work can not only be physically and mentally exhausting but also <a href="https://wwnorton.com/books/The-Corrosion-of-Character/">damaging to our sense of self</a>. </p>
<p>There’s no doubt that <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0018726720979348">workplace culture needs to change</a>. In the meantime, though, <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/13505076221150791">our research</a> has shown that running can help address these feelings. Running can offer us a community and an identity beyond our work selves – a valued sense of self over which we have control.</p>
<h2>A different self</h2>
<p>The people we spoke to in <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/2159676X.2021.1924244">our research</a> emphasised that having the identity of a runner, and the associated feeling that they belonged to a running community, gave them a sense of self and of value. This contrasted strongly with their feeling that work was either leaving them feeling insignificant or was corrupting who they really wanted to be. </p>
<p>Second, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/13505076221150791">our research</a> on how running can help managers deal with workplace issues suggests that running builds resilience. In particular, it can help us with our ability to cope with failure. </p>
<p>Running comes with its own risks of failure. For example, there’s a good chance we might at some stage injure ourselves – but we know that this is a possibility and learn how to manage it, perhaps by running a shorter distance or accepting slower times as we recover.</p>
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<img alt="Three women smiling while running" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507334/original/file-20230131-4643-kpf32l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507334/original/file-20230131-4643-kpf32l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507334/original/file-20230131-4643-kpf32l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507334/original/file-20230131-4643-kpf32l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507334/original/file-20230131-4643-kpf32l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507334/original/file-20230131-4643-kpf32l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507334/original/file-20230131-4643-kpf32l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Running as part of a group can help build a valued sense of self.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/group-curvy-girls-friends-jogging-together-1390862471">Ground Picture/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>What’s more, if runners exercise as members of a group, failure is encountered collectively. Injuries happen, targets are missed. Failures are common and normal. This may neutralise, or at least reduce, the negative feelings that come with failure. Exposure to failure can help us examine our emotions about it, and cultivate a tolerance of failure which can arguably then be transferred back to our work.</p>
<h2>Don’t go too far</h2>
<p>But <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/13505076221150791">our research</a> has also warned that too much running – especially when accompanied by social media and the use of <a href="https://www.newstatesman.com/social-media/2021/10/thedarksideofstrava">performance tracking apps</a> –can fuel our desire for constant achievement and competition. Runners can be easily beguiled by a sense of achievement, duped into a need to run further, faster or more often than others in their community – whether that’s friends and colleagues or a person’s online community. In this context, running can reinforce the disciplining tendencies of contemporary work. </p>
<p>An over-reliance upon running – whether for escape or for relaxation, especially when – as is inevitable – injury occurs, risks accelerating the corrosive sense of never being quite good enough that characterises contemporary work and life.</p>
<p>So, running can result in significant rewards. Besides the more obvious physical health benefits, it can enable people to find an identity that fits with who they want to be, and to feel a sense of belonging to a community of like-minded runners. But take care – don’t let it consume you.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/198362/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Running gives us an identity that may help us cope when our sense of self is challenged at work.Kate Black, Professor / Head of Education, Northumbria University, NewcastleRussell Warhurst, Associate Professor in Management, Northumbria University, NewcastleLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1983262023-02-02T14:56:47Z2023-02-02T14:56:47ZRemote working improves the lives of female managers - but at a cost<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/506084/original/file-20230124-25-q2pruk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A woman working from home. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/afro-caribbean-woman-working-from-home-during-the-royalty-free-image/1253792493?phrase=zoom%20meetings%20africa&adppopup=true">Alistair Berg/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a question that would have been unthinkable a few years ago: do we really need to be in the office all the time? </p>
<p>At the height of the pandemic, working remotely was viewed as a safeguard, protecting employees from the spread of infections. Over time a <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8834350/">consensus</a> has developed that working remotely has had benefits but has also raised <a href="https://theconversation.com/working-in-isolation-can-pose-mental-health-challenges-heres-what-anyone-can-learn-from-how-gig-workers-have-adapted-194712">health concerns</a>.</p>
<p>To provide some answers to the question, I did <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.949914/full">research</a> on the experience of working remotely from the perspective of 23 female middle managers working in the South African public service. </p>
<p>It was clear that remote work had positive and negative aspects. </p>
<p>On the positive side, working remotely offered flexibility. Employees could balance individual and work tasks. This gave them some freedom and autonomy. In essence, work-life balance was somewhat promoted.</p>
<p>One participant, a human resource manager, said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>During the height of the pandemic, I could spend more time connecting with other facets of my life outside work. I could read more at home. Do some gardening. Even connect more with the world around me. Yes I got to do some work but I also managed to do things I could not do previously. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>On the negative side, the women said they experienced a blurring of work boundaries and an extension of their office hours.</p>
<p>Based on the findings, I make three recommendations for managing the downside of working remotely. First, organisations may need to provide employee support; an important part of this is to trust their staff. Second, policy around remote working may need to be in place and reinforced. Such policy needs to strike a balance between getting the work done and respecting the individual rights of employees. Finally, a culture of open communication can be useful on both sides to achieve this. This includes setting goals and addressing misconceptions around working remotely.</p>
<h2>The upside</h2>
<p>The female managers in the study extolled the work-life balance that remote work can offer. </p>
<p>The managers praised remote working as cutting back unnecessary time spent in traffic while commuting to work. They could spend more time with family and pay attention to personal wellness activities such as going to the gym. </p>
<p>Remote working also had the potential to enhance the quality of relationships, thanks to the physical presence at home.</p>
<p>Another participant, an accounting manager, said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I think remote working also saved my marriage. My partner and I are appreciative of being in professions where we can work remotely. This assisted both of us to work in the same room at home. Such time was just the bond we needed. Remember in a week we usually spent half of the week at the office before the pandemic. It was wonderful to work from home not just for the work aspect but also our relationship.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>But the research also revealed that remote working posed some challenges.</p>
<h2>The downside</h2>
<p>Three main problems emerged. First, despite viewing remote working as a possibility, organisational will did not exist to see it through. There appeared to be mixed feelings in organisations, to support or not to support remote working. </p>
<p>Second, for some managers, managing people remotely was not a feasible option. This was largely due to the perception that for one to be an effective manager some form of physical presence was needed. The physical presence factor for these managers served as a form of surveillance, an ability to monitor that work was actually being done. Such a management approach created levels of suspicion and rendered remote working ineffective. </p>
<p>Thirdly, the managers in my study expressed concern around the extension of the working hours. Remote working distorted the boundaries of work and forced employees to be available at any time. This included receiving work-related calls at odd hours. Some employees felt that going to the office protected them from being bothered after work hours. </p>
<p>A participant observed:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The organisational structure within the South Africa public service is still that one of command and control. This works well within physical spaces. With working from home that command and control manifests in the excessive calls. Someone can call you late at night. That was salient nightmare for remote working for me.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>What should be done</h2>
<p>The findings of this research show there is a need for nuanced organisational responses to remote working. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/remote-work-has-made-developing-relationships-with-colleagues-harder-heres-what-workers-and-bosses-need-now-194883">Remote work has made developing relationships with colleagues harder – here's what workers and bosses need now</a>
</strong>
</em>
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<p>First, organisations should seek to support employees where remote working is in place. They may need policies to guide such modes of working.</p>
<p>Second, employees have a responsibility to speak out. While there is a need to be productive in organisations, this should not come through violation of individual rights. There can be no flexibility to the expression of individual rights.</p>
<p>Third, the findings show the need for investment in training and support services around remote working. This may include psycho-social support for employees who may be struggling with dealing with aspects related to remote working. Further, organisations need to invest in hardware and software support that enhances the remote working experience.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/198326/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Willie Tafadzwa Chinyamurindi receives funding from a) The National Research Foundation, b) The South African Medical Research Council, c) The Council for Scientific Industrial Research and d) The National Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences.</span></em></p>Remote working policy needs to strike a balance between productivity and individual rights of employees.Willie Tafadzwa Chinyamurindi, Professor, University of Fort HareLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1957992023-02-02T13:21:40Z2023-02-02T13:21:40ZA journey from work to home is about more than just getting there – the psychological benefits of commuting that remote work doesn’t provide<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507176/original/file-20230130-8935-wa2bhg.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=504%2C0%2C4615%2C3631&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Commuting can create a ‘liminal space.’</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/traffic-jam-from-the-drivers-perspective-royalty-free-image/1285694174?phrase=person%20driving%20traffic%20gridlock">mikroman6/Moment via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>For most American workers who commute, the trip to and from the office takes nearly one full hour a day – <a href="https://data.census.gov/table?q=Commuting&tid=ACSST1Y2021.S0801">26 minutes each way</a> on average, with 7.7% of workers spending two hours or more on the road.</p>
<p>Many people think of commuting as a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/01441640701559484">chore and a waste of time</a>. However, during the remote work surge resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/23/realestate/can-i-actually-be-missing-the-commute.html">several journalists curiously noted</a> that people were – could it be? – <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2021/07/admit-it-you-miss-your-commute/619007/">missing their commutes</a>. One woman told The Washington Post that even though she was working from home, she regularly <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/dc-commute-coronavirus/2020/12/30/98b5b540-4494-11eb-b0e4-0f182923a025_story.html">sat in her car in the driveway</a> at the end of the workday in an attempt to carve out some personal time and mark the transition from work to nonwork roles. </p>
<p>As <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=kNOgBsYAAAAJ&hl=en">management</a> <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=K04MvpgAAAAJ">scholars</a> who study the interface between peoples’ work and personal lives, we sought to understand what it was that people missed when their commutes suddenly disappeared. </p>
<p>In our recently published conceptual study, we argue that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/20413866221131394">commutes are a source of “liminal space”</a> – a time free of both home and work roles that provides an opportunity to recover from work and mentally switch gears to home. </p>
<p>During the shift to remote work, many people lost this built-in support for these important daily processes. Without the ability to mentally shift gears, <a href="https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2000.3363315">people experience role blurring, which can lead to stress</a>. Without mentally disengaging from work, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/job.1924">people can experience burnout</a>.</p>
<p>We believe the loss of this space helps explain why many people missed their commutes.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Businesswoman reading a book while traveling on a commuter train" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/502170/original/file-20221220-16-vx5m3p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C17%2C5751%2C3811&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/502170/original/file-20221220-16-vx5m3p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502170/original/file-20221220-16-vx5m3p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502170/original/file-20221220-16-vx5m3p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502170/original/file-20221220-16-vx5m3p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502170/original/file-20221220-16-vx5m3p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502170/original/file-20221220-16-vx5m3p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">One of the more surprising discoveries during the pandemic has been that many people who switched to remote work actually missed their commutes.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/businesswoman-reading-book-in-train-royalty-free-image/540244181?phrase=commuter&adppopup=true">Hinterhaus Productions/Stone via Getty Images</a></span>
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<h2>Commutes and liminal space</h2>
<p>In our study, we wanted to learn whether the commute provides that time and space, and what the effects are when it becomes unavailable. </p>
<p>We reviewed research on <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1099-1379(199803)19:2%3C147::AID-JOB830%3E3.0.CO;2-Y">commuting</a>, <a href="https://doi-org.proxy.lib.wayne.edu/10.2307/259305">role transitions</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/1076-8998.12.3.204">work recovery</a> to develop a model of a typical American worker’s commute liminal space. We focused our research on two cognitive processes: <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/a0019462">psychological detachment from the work role</a> – mentally disengaging from the demands of work – and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/job.1924">psychological recovery from work</a> – rebuilding stores of mental energy used up during work.</p>
<p>Based on our review, we developed a model which shows that the liminal space created in the commute created opportunities for detachment and recovery. </p>
<p>However, we also found that day-to-day variations may affect whether this liminal space is accessible for detachment and recovery. For instance, train commuters must devote attention to selecting their route, monitoring arrivals or departures and ensuring they get off at the right stop, whereas car commuters must devote consistent attention to driving.</p>
<p>We found that, on the one hand, more attention to the act of commuting means less attention that could otherwise be put toward relaxing recovery activities like listening to music and podcasts. On the other hand, longer commutes might give people more time to detach and recover.</p>
<p>In an unpublished <a href="https://doi.org/10.5465/AMBPP.2020.17098abstract">follow-up study</a> we conducted ourselves, we examined a week of commutes of 80 university employees to test our conceptual model. The employees completed morning and evening surveys asking about the characteristics of their commutes, whether they “shut off” from work and relaxed during the commute and whether they felt emotionally exhausted when they got home. </p>
<p>Most of the workers in this study reported using the commute’s liminal space to both mentally transition from work to home roles and to start psychologically recovering from the demands of the workday. Our study also confirms that day-to-day variations in commutes predict the ability to do so. </p>
<p>We found that on days with longer-than-average commutes, people reported higher levels of psychological detachment from work and were more relaxed during the commute. However, on days when commutes were more stressful than usual, they reported less psychological detachment from work and less relaxation during the commute.</p>
<h2>Creating liminal space</h2>
<p>Our findings suggest that remote workers may benefit from creating their own form of commute to provide liminal space for recovery and transition – such as a 15-minute walk to mark the beginning and end of the workday. </p>
<p>Our preliminary findings align with related research suggesting that those who have returned to the workplace might benefit from seeking to use their commute to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/smi.2534">relax as much as possible</a>. </p>
<p>To help enhance work detachment and relaxation during the commute, commuters could try to avoid <a href="https://doi.org/10/gg68x9">ruminating about the workday</a> and instead focus on personally fulfilling uses of the commute time, such as listening to music or podcasts, or calling a friend. Other forms of commuting such as public transit or carpooling may also provide opportunities to socialize. </p>
<p>Our data shows that commute stress detracts from detachment and relaxation during the commute more than a shorter or longer commute. So some people may find it worth their time to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1010366321778">take the “scenic route” home</a> in order to avoid tense driving situations.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/195799/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>It turns out that there are some benefits to all the time we spend commuting.Matthew Piszczek, Assistant Professor of Management, Wayne State UniversityKristie McAlpine, Assistant Professor of Management, Rutgers UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1941702022-11-09T19:00:07Z2022-11-09T19:00:07ZMorning or evening type? Choice of hours is the next big thing in workplace flexibility<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/494335/original/file-20221109-24-noeyg3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C640%2C3882%2C1944&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Are you a morning or evening person? Studies show we have strong differences in when we feel most creative and do our best work during the day. </p>
<p>These differences go far deeper than just personal preference. Whether you like to get up early (a “lark”) or go to bed late (an “owl”), and when you are more productive, is a <a href="https://academic.oup.com/sleep/article/21/6/569/2725974?login=true">biological predisposition</a> related to the settings of your <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/pdf/S0960-9822(06)02609-1.pdf">internal body clock</a> that synchronises your bodily functions with the rotation of the planet. </p>
<p>Research suggests <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1365-2869.2007.00580.x">genetic effects</a> account for about half of the variability between individuals. Environmental factors and age explain the rest. </p>
<p>Yet most workplaces take a cookie-cutter approach to time, forcing us to work standardised hours. There are clear organisational advantages to this, but the disadvantage is that you (and your colleagues) may not be working at your most productive times. </p>
<p>In the past few years we’ve seen a revolution in where we work. The enforced experiment of remote working during the pandemic has done much to overcome decades of managerial resistance to greater flexibility. Is it now time for a revolution in when we work?</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/even-google-agrees-theres-no-going-back-to-the-old-office-life-177808">Even Google agrees there's no going back to the old office life</a>
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<p>If done well, my research suggests, it could lead be the next big gain in productivity – but only if the downsides are acknowledged and competing needs balanced.</p>
<h2>Variations in chronotypes</h2>
<p>Differences in the human body clock are often referred to as <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/pdf/S0960-9822(06)02609-1.pdf">chronotypes</a>. </p>
<p>Chronotypes exist on a morningness-eveningness <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S019188690100085X?casa_token=1Dn-A1lPQ5EAAAAA:KoMmLqt3BXswcN3bQkhmrkjyCgd0_N3CB7oTfiJ_hzUs7mQRFFnlhedPFrW0ZT5PrCG1U826Sw">continuum</a> but individuals are often broadly <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.3109/07420528.2012.719971?casa_token=gFO7T7ForakAAAAA%3AarK5aCKAItp84XOJv5-OQUAlMCtsVK6aFNf8GMfWlH1iV4kLRDCeO_EhpwIcAJk2fzmk-ohlDvoR">classified</a> based on the timing of their daily performance peaks as either morning types, evening types or intermediate types.</p>
<p>Most kids are morning types. Most teenagers are evening types. In the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982204009285">working-age population</a> about 20% can be categorised as either morning or evening types while 60% are intermediate types. </p>
<p>Women are slightly more likely to prefer earlier hours than men up until menopause, when differences disappear. People who live <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/srep39976">further from the Equator</a> are more likely to be evening types. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Woman resting head on desk. Women are more likely to prefer earlier hours to men up until menopause, when sex differences in chronotypes disappear." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/494303/original/file-20221108-14-ho3gjw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C727%2C4500%2C2270&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/494303/original/file-20221108-14-ho3gjw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/494303/original/file-20221108-14-ho3gjw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/494303/original/file-20221108-14-ho3gjw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/494303/original/file-20221108-14-ho3gjw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/494303/original/file-20221108-14-ho3gjw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/494303/original/file-20221108-14-ho3gjw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Women are more likely to prefer earlier hours to men up until menopause, when sex differences in chronotypes disappear.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Chronotypes determine when during the day we feel energised and prefer to be active and perform demanding work. They also determine when we feel tired and prefer to work on less demanding tasks or to rest. So they are important to to productive you are.</p>
<p>If you’re a lark, you may be missing your best hours working 9am to 5pm. If you’re an owl you may be knocking off when you’re at your most alert.</p>
<h2>The pros and cons of time flexibility</h2>
<p>Could greater work-time flexibility be the next big key to unlock greater well-being and productivity? My research suggests yes, but only by acknowledging that increased work-time flexibility can also lead to negative consequences. </p>
<p>The downside – particularly if time flexibility is combined with remote working – is less interaction with colleagues, leading to greater <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2021/04/zoom-remote-work-loneliness-happiness/618473/">isolation</a> and lower <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/worklab/work-trend-index/hybrid-work">creativity and innovation</a>. </p>
<p>The benefits of “serendipity” – unplanned hallway and cafeteria discussions – are <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-death-of-the-open-plan-office-not-quite-but-a-revolution-is-in-the-air-140724">well-recognised</a>. The less time we spend with coworkers, the less likely we are to connect, make friendships and develop team spirit. </p>
<p>But these problems are no more insurmountable than the challenges of remote work.
There are comparatively easy ways to mitigate unintended side-effects through designing work-time arrangements that balance individual and organisational interests.</p>
<h2>How to manage chronotype diversity</h2>
<p>The key is for organisations to segment work time into four parts.</p>
<ol>
<li><p><em>Fixed on-site working hours:</em> during these times employees are expected to attend office and be available for in-person meetings, collaborative work and social gatherings. There is no hard-and-fast rule on how many days this should be, but surveys suggests employers generally want <a href="https://www.wired.co.uk/article/best-day-return-office">at least three days</a> a week, while workers want less.</p></li>
<li><p><em>Fixed flexible-location working hours:</em> during these hours all employees can work remotely if they want, but work a set number of standard work hours – say 10am to 3pm. These hours will depend on the needs of the organisation and the degree of teamwork required. </p></li>
<li><p><em>Flexible working hours:</em> beyond fixed working hours, workers can choose when to work to make up their full hours.</p></li>
<li><p><em>Lockout hours:</em> it is important to prevent excessive, potentially self-harming behaviour by setting limits through “lockout hours” – 7pm to 7am, for example – during which employees are strongly discouraged from working unless absolutely necessary. </p></li>
</ol>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-many-days-a-week-in-the-office-are-enough-you-shouldnt-need-to-ask-166418">How many days a week in the office are enough? You shouldn't need to ask</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Increased work flexibility is one of the few positive outcomes of the pandemic. But revolutions are rarely smooth. We have to be conscious of the potential pitfalls to avoid them. </p>
<p>Through careful attention to unintended consequences, and developing new work structures, there’s no reason to think we can’t have more flexibility over where and when we work.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/194170/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stefan Volk does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>More choice over when we work be the next big gain in productivity.Stefan Volk, Associate Professor and Co-Director Body, Heart and Mind in Business Research Group, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1894992022-09-16T11:26:14Z2022-09-16T11:26:14ZThinking about quiet quitting? Here’s why – and how – you should talk to your boss instead<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/483041/original/file-20220906-14-uhr1ht.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=55%2C37%2C4063%2C3050&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/aggressiveangry-boss-complaining-asian-business-womancasual-556396201">Nattakorn_Maneerat / Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Quiet quitting is a catchy name, popularised on social media, for something we’ve all probably done. Its popularity is probably down to the inevitable and much-needed pushback against “hustle culture”, where younger workers are encouraged to over-function and engage in unsustainable “<a href="https://www.economist.com/business/2022/01/07/the-rise-of-performative-work">performative productivity</a>” – looking like you are working harder than you are – to get ahead in their careers. This comes at the expense of their wellbeing and capacity to engage meaningfully with their work.</p>
<hr>
<iframe id="noa-web-audio-player" style="border: none" src="https://embed-player.newsoveraudio.com/v4?key=x84olp&id=https://theconversation.com/thinking-about-quiet-quitting-heres-why-and-how-you-should-talk-to-your-boss-instead-189499 &bgColor=F5F5F5&color=D8352A&playColor=D8352A" width="100%" height="110px"></iframe>
<p><em>You can listen to more articles from The Conversation, narrated by Noa, <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/audio-narrated-99682">here</a>.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>Hesitance to perform duties outside of what your role requires can be a symptom of low engagement, which can be connected to how you are managed. According to Gallup’s 2022 <a href="https://www.gallup.com/workplace/349484/state-of-the-global-workplace-2022-report.aspx#ite-393245">“state of the global workplace”</a> report, only 21% of people are engaged at work. Engagement is crucial for retention and productivity more generally.</p>
<p>Research by management expert Emma Soane reveals that people’s engagement with work <a href="https://www.lse.ac.uk/Research/research-impact-case-studies/improving-employee-engagement-performance">stems from three factors</a>: how meaningful they find it, their perceptions of managers, and opportunities to have two-way conversations with said managers. So, if you’re feeling burned out and disengaged, what’s the best way to communicate with your manager about it?</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Quarter life, a series by The Conversation" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption"></span>
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<p><em><strong><a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/quarter-life-117947?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">This article is part of Quarter Life</a></strong>, a series about issues affecting those of us in our twenties and thirties. From the challenges of beginning a career and taking care of our mental health, to the excitement of starting a family, adopting a pet or just making friends as an adult. The articles in this series explore the questions and bring answers as we navigate this turbulent period of life.</em></p>
<p><em>You may be interested in:</em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/three-ways-to-tackle-the-sunday-scaries-the-anxiety-and-dread-many-people-feel-at-the-end-of-the-weekend-187313?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">Three ways to tackle the ‘Sunday scaries’, the anxiety and dread many people feel at the end of the weekend</a></em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/quiet-quitting-is-a-new-name-for-an-old-method-of-industrial-action-189752?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">Quiet quitting is a new name for an old method of industrial action</a></em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-spend-time-wisely-what-young-people-can-learn-from-retirees-189340?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">How to spend time wisely – what young people can learn from retirees</a></em></p>
<hr>
<h2>Setting boundaries and asking questions</h2>
<p>Simply quiet quitting without warning is a risky strategy. If you have a reputation for going the extra mile, it’s a bad idea to abruptly switch off that part of your workplace persona. Transparency is important, and good managers will be supportive when workers raise concerns about burnout and lack of engagement.</p>
<p>A conversation with your boss could be the start of reform in your workplace that leads to a better environment for everyone, by helping workers set boundaries that managers respect. Be clear about your reasons for quiet quitting, and where your employer might be able to play a role in supporting your boundaries.</p>
<p>Ellen Ernst Kossek, an expert in work-life balance, <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2016-48540-012">identified three fundamental styles</a> of boundary management. Employees seeking healthier boundaries tend to either separate work from the rest of their life entirely, integrate work into their life, or operate in cycles that combine both approaches. All are legitimate. Decide which approach works best for your specific circumstances before having the conversation. And enter the dialogue with solutions in mind, not just complaints.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-we-must-completely-rethink-how-to-communicate-at-work-82387">Why we must completely rethink how to communicate at work</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Even if you have a reasonably emotionally intelligent line manager, it is important to ask the right questions of your boss to get more involved and feel more valued. No point beating around the bush. Find a time when your boss is not stressed and is likely to be more open to dialogue, and let them know that you’re not very happy, and why. People who are quiet quitting may feel undervalued, overworked, exploited and want a better balance in their lives. </p>
<p>Here are some questions you could ask to get the conversation flowing:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>What do you really think of the quality of my work?</p></li>
<li><p>What do you think about the hours I am working?</p></li>
<li><p>How do you feel about my relationship with other members of the team?</p></li>
<li><p>Do you think you and I have a good working relationship?</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Based on their response, you have the opportunity to let the boss know just how you feel. There is always a risk in doing this, depending on their openness, but it’s better to speak up than to stay unhappy and operating at half throttle.</p>
<h2>Better engagement at work</h2>
<p>Organisations depend on having an engaged workforce. Engagement is a fragile and precious resource. It can decay for a variety of reasons, including avoidable and trivial frustrations. In a 2022 <a href="https://www.globenewswire.com/en/news-release/2022/07/19/2481885/0/en/New-Survey-B2B-E-Commerce-is-Making-IT-Leaders-Miserable.html">survey of IT workers</a>, a whopping 84% of study participants reported being unhappy because of the software they were using.</p>
<p>It’s easy to see how low-level departmental gripes can deplete morale and engagement over time, leading to the sort of burnout that causes people to quit, quietly or otherwise.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Two young women in professional clothing sit across from each other in conversation" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/483050/original/file-20220906-20-kqsm6j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/483050/original/file-20220906-20-kqsm6j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483050/original/file-20220906-20-kqsm6j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483050/original/file-20220906-20-kqsm6j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483050/original/file-20220906-20-kqsm6j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483050/original/file-20220906-20-kqsm6j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483050/original/file-20220906-20-kqsm6j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A productive conversation about quiet quitting could lead to a better work environment for all.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/young-indian-asian-woman-has-business-1132025600">mentatdgt / Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Dominic Ashley-Timms, CEO of management performance consultancy Notion, is coauthoring a book on helping managers improve engagement – ultimately minimising the negative effect of quiet quitting. He believes the key to improving engagement is for managers to ask better quality (and better timed) questions of their employees. If managers understand themselves in terms of the effect they have on their staff, they will better understand how to keep their employees engaged.</p>
<p>This is consistent with the concerns of the <a href="https://www.alliancembs.manchester.ac.uk/research/health-wellbeing-forum/">National Forum for Health and Wellbeing at Work</a> (a body of over 40 global employers), which has been advocating that managers need to improve their social and interpersonal skills so that employees feel more valued. Such engagement will lead to higher levels of productivity at work and less inclination towards quiet quitting.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/189499/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Cary Cooper does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Quiet quitting could be a sign of disengagement. Here’s how to raise the issue with your manager.Cary Cooper, Professor of Organisational Psychology and Health, University of ManchesterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1898792022-09-16T01:45:17Z2022-09-16T01:45:17ZSurvey reveals two-thirds of NZ employees want more work-life flexibility – how should employers respond?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484735/original/file-20220914-4859-rtp5rl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C11%2C7951%2C5273&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>COVID-19 has had a significant impact on all facets of our lives, including the ways we work and our work-life priorities.</p>
<p>Globally, workplaces are navigating trends such as the “<a href="https://management.co.nz/article/great-resignation">great resignation</a>”, “<a href="https://www.unsw.edu.au/news/2022/08/quiet-quitting--the-burnout-phenomenon-hitting-business-">quiet quitting</a>” and the “<a href="https://www.taos.com/resources/blog/the-great-recruitment-a-competitive-edge-and-the-opportunity-to-shift-to-a-value-based-employee-experience-model/">great recruitment</a>”. But in New Zealand, the “great return” to work is still being negotiated, providing employees and employers an opportunity to redesign the workplace in ways that benefit both. </p>
<p>One common theme in the employment trends to emerge during COVID-19 is a shift in the value people place on their work and their lives outside of work. But has this gone too far? Are workers being selfish – or “self-first”, as in putting their non-work preferences ahead of workplace productivity? </p>
<p>Or are they prioritising personal wellbeing in order to be better employees? And are these global employment trends meaningful in the New Zealand context, where small and medium-sized companies (SMEs) dominate the business landscape? </p>
<p>Our ongoing <a href="https://massey.au1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_ebsLXckOn1Odp1Y">survey of more than 600 SME employees</a> found workplace practices and future working preferences have changed since 2020. Workers are looking for jobs that better fit their lives. The results suggest now is the time for employers to work with employees, rather than against them, for mutual benefit and increased productivity. </p>
<h2>Global trends: big players and trendsetters</h2>
<p>More than two years after the first COVID-19 lockdowns, employers are calling their employees back to the office – but also having to respond to employee push-back. Employees are expecting and asking for more flexibility in where and when they work – they aren’t just quietly accepting the “old ways” of working. </p>
<p>Workers have had a taste of work-life flexibility and are demanding this more frequently and with more confidence. Meanwhile, some employers are focused on “traditional” 40-hour weeks in the office, while others are offering flexibility in hours worked, work style and location. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-city-is-becoming-increasingly-digital-forcing-us-to-rethink-its-role-in-life-and-work-189118">The 'city' is becoming increasingly digital, forcing us to rethink its role in life and work</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Tesla <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/musk-to-tesla-employees-you-must-work-from-the-office-40-hours-a-week/ar-AAXY6E7">recently told workers</a> to return to the office for 40 hours a week, or work elsewhere permanently. Apple’s <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2022/3/4/22961592/apple-april-11-return-office-corporate-pandemic-tim-cook">mandate for employees</a> to return to the office was met with a <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/apple-workers-launch-petition-companys-reported-return-office-plan-rcna44156">petition</a> for a work-from-home policy, as implemented at Facebook and Twitter. The company eventually settled for a hybrid “two days at home, three days in the office” model. </p>
<p>In the UK, a four-day work week <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/lifestyle/the-world-s-biggest-four-day-work-week-pilot-begins-1.5934394">pilot</a> involving 70 companies is underway, while in Canada some workplaces are navigating the <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/business/remote-work-debate-intensifies-as-companies-mandate-return-to-office-after-labour-day-1.6053351">broad pushback</a> from employees who have seen they can work in different places and during different hours and who now want a say in how, when, and where they do their job. </p>
<p>Some businesses are mandating a return to the office while other Canadian businesses have <a href="https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/four-day-work-week-here-to-stay-ontario-organizations-say-after-trials-1.5936731">embraced a four-day work week</a> with no change in daily hours for employees. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Man sitting on the floor working next to a child and surrounded by toys." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484738/original/file-20220914-23-hqg0u2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484738/original/file-20220914-23-hqg0u2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484738/original/file-20220914-23-hqg0u2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484738/original/file-20220914-23-hqg0u2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484738/original/file-20220914-23-hqg0u2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484738/original/file-20220914-23-hqg0u2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484738/original/file-20220914-23-hqg0u2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Employees’ expectations around work have changed and now is the time for employers to negotiate with their staff over what work looks like.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com.au/detail/photo/father-with-his-little-son-working-from-home-royalty-free-image/1134461939?adppopup=true">Getty Images</a></span>
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<h2>NZ workplaces in a state of flux</h2>
<p>While similar trials are under way in <a href="https://www.perpetualguardian.co.nz/the-four-day-week-is-here/">New Zealand</a>, the big questions are whether employers need to worry about the actions of large, multinational companies (given SMEs make up approximately <a href="https://www.mbie.govt.nz/business-and-employment/business/support-for-business/small-business/">97%</a> of local businesses), and whether employees have the same desired future work-life preferences as workers overseas.</p>
<p>A quick search of vacancies on the job website Seek.com showed more than 700 jobs mentioned “working from home”, 5,000 mentioned “flexibility”, and 38,000 mentioned “work-life” in the job descriptions. Businesses clearly have the sense that staff preferences are changing. </p>
<p>Our research provides insight on what employees want and why. We asked questions about when, where and how many hours they work, as well as the levels of autonomy they have in setting their own work patterns. We also asked what changes they had seen in their organisations since 2020. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/flexibility-makes-us-happier-with-3-clear-trends-emerging-in-post-pandemic-hybrid-work-180310">Flexibility makes us happier, with 3 clear trends emerging in post-pandemic hybrid work</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>While more than half of the respondents (52%) said they had more flexibility in terms of their work arrangements compared to before COVID, and 62% agreed they were able to manage their work-life demands, two-thirds (67%) indicated they now wanted more work-life flexibility. </p>
<p>Nearly half of the respondents (48%) reported that their organisation had already made formal policy changes to enable more work-life flexibility (not including temporary changes during the pandemic). Some 41% said they knew of employees who had left organisations because the employer did not provide enough flexibility to match their needs. </p>
<p>Flexibility in this context meant control over their working patterns. Employees wanted to decide how, where and when they carried out their work. This does not necessarily mean only working from home, but start and end times, number of daily hours worked, and preferred locations such as the homes of friends and family, cafes, libraries and shared open spaces.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/even-google-agrees-theres-no-going-back-to-the-old-office-life-177808">Even Google agrees there's no going back to the old office life</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The dominant reason for people seeking greater flexibility was personal wellbeing (60%) – above family care, lifestyle, community involvement, fewer interruptions and increased productivity. </p>
<p>We also found 77% of respondents wanted to feel a strong sense of belonging to their organisation. Despite wanting more control of their working patterns, including not necessarily being in the same building as their colleagues, respondents still wanted to be part of an organisation – just in a different way. </p>
<h2>Finding common ground</h2>
<p>The survey results offer local employers an opportunity to work with employees, rather than face the backlash that has been seen overseas. </p>
<p>With record low unemployment, employees are seeking organisations that are responding to the shift in employee values. Employers need to look past what might appear, on the surface, to be employee selfishness and accommodate the new “self-first” preferences in the post-COVID environment. </p>
<p>By embracing the preferences of their workers, employers can show they value employees and employee wellbeing, which might help navigate the best options for employees – including helping set the new “rules” of working and where compromises might take place.</p>
<p>Remember, employees want a sense of belonging to something bigger. But they also understand the importance of taking care of themselves first. It is time for employees and employers to work together to carve out the mutual benefits of finding new ways of working.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/189879/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Post-COVID, employees are looking for work-life flexibility, but this doesn’t just mean working from home. The new New Zealand workplace is still up for negotiation.Wayne Macpherson, Senior lecturer, Massey UniversityBeth Tootell, Senior Lecturer in Human Resource Management, Massey UniversityJennifer Scott, Senior lecturer, Massey UniversityKazunori Kobayashi, Lecturer in Management, Entrepreneurship & Innovation, Massey UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1897522022-09-09T08:28:41Z2022-09-09T08:28:41ZQuiet quitting is a new name for an old method of industrial action<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/482981/original/file-20220906-4642-vnb2ru.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=130%2C45%2C4982%2C2828&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">With the rise of quiet quitting, could the days (and nights) of staying late at the office be over?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/working-late-night-office-businesswoman-uses-1793021245">Gorodenkoff / Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The average UK worker now carries out approximately <a href="https://www.businessleader.co.uk/new-research-ranks-the-uk-11th-in-the-world-for-work-life-balance/">22 days’ worth of overtime</a> a year. Meanwhile, inflation is at a <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12196322">40-year high of 10.1%</a>, and real pay is <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/live/2022/jul/19/inflation-jobs-ons-uk-pay-business-live">dropping 2.8% </a> – the fastest decline since records began in 2001. </p>
<hr>
<iframe id="noa-web-audio-player" style="border: none" src="https://embed-player.newsoveraudio.com/v4?key=x84olp&id=https://theconversation.com/quiet-quitting-is-a-new-name-for-an-old-method-of-industrial-action-189752" &bgcolor="F5F5F5&color=D8352A&playColor=D8352A width="100%"" height="110px" width="100%"></iframe>
<p><em>You can listen to more articles from The Conversation, narrated by Noa, <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/audio-narrated-99682">here</a>.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>In response, the trend of “quiet quitting” is emerging. This attitude encourages employees to fulfil their job duties without subscribing to “work is life” culture to guide their career and stand out to their managers.</p>
<p>The idea of putting in just enough effort to not get fired, but without going above and beyond, has a long history in the labour movement. A concept called “work to rule” has been used by workers around the world for centuries, and is a popular method of industrial action <a href="https://www.nursingtimes.net/news/workforce/work-to-rule-action-will-mean-nurses-withdraw-their-goodwill-27-07-2010/">in the UK</a>. </p>
<p>Historically, working to rule has been an effective – and legal – tool for unions to disrupt the operations of a company during trade disputes by slowing down operations. When the <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/1022084">French railways</a> were nationalised in 1938, strikes were forbidden. However, railway workers were aware that French law required engineers to assure the safety of any bridge over which the train passes. </p>
<p>If any doubt remained after a personal examination, the engineer had to consult other members of the train crew. Working to rule isn’t just about minimising workload, it can be used to frustrate the operations as well – in this case, workers called for every bridge to be inspected, consulting every crew, leading to none of the trains running on time. </p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Quarter life, a series by The Conversation" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><em><strong><a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/quarter-life-117947?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">This article is part of Quarter Life</a></strong>, a series about issues affecting those of us in our twenties and thirties. From the challenges of beginning a career and taking care of our mental health, to the excitement of starting a family, adopting a pet or just making friends as an adult. The articles in this series explore the questions and bring answers as we navigate this turbulent period of life.</em></p>
<p><em>You may be interested in:</em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/four-reasons-the-shift-to-hybrid-working-is-set-to-stay-for-young-professionals-186013?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">Four reasons the shift to hybrid working is set to stay for young professionals</a></em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/cost-of-living-crisis-what-are-your-rights-if-your-landlord-wants-to-increase-your-rent-189089?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">Cost of living crisis: what are your rights if your landlord wants to increase your rent?</a></em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/houseplants-dont-just-look-nice-they-can-also-give-your-mental-health-a-boost-186982?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">Houseplants don’t just look nice – they can also give your mental health a boost</a></em></p>
<hr>
<p>In 1968, more than 2,000 <a href="https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=uJZlAAAAIBAJ&pg=6026,3158040&dq=work-to-rule&hl=en">Air Canada passenger agents and communications personnel</a> implemented work to rule over a labour dispute. Representatives at the time stated that their members would usually take whatever “shortcuts” they could to keep passengers moving at maximum speed. However, they abandoned these shortcuts, working strictly to the airline’s rules and regulations, until a settlement was reached.</p>
<p>In May 2021, the UK <a href="https://www.uculeicester.org.uk/action-short-of-a-strike-a-guide-for-our-wonderful-students/">university college union</a> took “action short of a strike”, which often describes a work to rule approach. Staff still carried out their jobs, but interrupted the normal operations of work through eight forms of action:</p>
<ol>
<li>boycott of marking and assessing </li>
<li>not covering for absent or unavailable colleagues<br></li>
<li>not using the university’s online systems on a Friday<br></li>
<li>not rescheduling lectures, classes, appointments, meetings or other tasks cancelled due to industrial action </li>
<li>not engaging in meetings longer than 50 minutes<br></li>
<li>not sending emails before 9:00 am and after 5:00 pm<br></li>
<li>not volunteering ideas or for additional tasks<br></li>
<li>not undertaking work beyond that contracted.</li>
</ol>
<p>This demonstrated to the employer that the university could not function without staff routinely going above and beyond what their jobs actually require.</p>
<p>In August 2022, members of the National Union of Journalists, include those at the Daily Mirror, Daily Express and Manchester Evening News <a href="https://www.prolificnorth.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/2022/08/79-cent-reach-plc-staff-vote-favour-strike-action">voted 88% in favour</a> of action short of a strike. Amid ongoing, all-out strikes in several industries, there is clearly still an appetite for disruption in the workplace.</p>
<h2>Is quiet quitting a form of industrial action?</h2>
<p>Industrial action in the UK <a href="https://theconversation.com/new-styles-of-strikes-and-protest-are-emerging-in-the-uk-94528">is changing</a>. A younger and more diverse labour market wants change in the workplace over inequality and pay gaps, but their approach is less about working class solidarity than that of previous generations. </p>
<p>This is evident in the <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/989116/Trade-union-membership-2020-statistical-bulletin.pdf">decline in trade union membership</a>, especially among younger people. For workers aged 20–29, <a href="https://community-tu.org/who-we-are/equalities/young-workers/">trade union membership</a> is at 14.1%. This falls by almost half to 7.5% in the private sector, where most young people work. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A group of team members placing their hands together in the centre of a circle" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/482983/original/file-20220906-16-r8wri6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/482983/original/file-20220906-16-r8wri6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/482983/original/file-20220906-16-r8wri6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/482983/original/file-20220906-16-r8wri6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/482983/original/file-20220906-16-r8wri6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/482983/original/file-20220906-16-r8wri6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/482983/original/file-20220906-16-r8wri6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Quiet quitting: industrial action for the age of individualism.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/business-partners-teamwork-friendship-concept-multiethnic-708967309">Urbanscape / Shutterstock</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>Many states (<a href="https://www.oecd.org/els/emp/oecdindicatorsofemploymentprotection.htm">in particular EU members or countries trading with the EU</a>) have restricted the freedom of employers and workers to form contractual arrangements, and to change them as economic circumstances alter. Before state intervention, industrial relations were mostly voluntary arrangements between employers, employees and trade unions. With the decline in trade union membership and fewer opportunities for industrial action, “quiet quitting” and working to rule is becoming more common.</p>
<p>The methods of removal of labour may be similar, but the overarching premise behind them has changed. Working to rule has historically been a form of collective action over a dispute, usually involving pay and conditions. </p>
<p>The quiet quitting approach has a far more personal and psychological attitude, tied to workers’ individual desire for <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/human-flourishing-101/202208/5-reasons-why-quiet-quitting-is-great-your-mental-health">good mental health</a>. Psychologists argue that this approach to work can salve burnout, set healthy boundaries, build a sense of control and help people prioritise what really matters. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/quiet-quitting-why-doing-less-at-work-could-be-good-for-you-and-your-employer-188617">Quiet quitting: why doing less at work could be good for you – and your employer</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Employers will need to address this issue to ensure productivity is not affected in the short or long term – but it will be difficult to tackle. Work to rule (and other industrial action) is a known quantity for employers. Workers are clear about the terms of the dispute, what the collective action is and how long it will last. </p>
<p>On the other hand, as its name suggests, quiet quitting is a silent protest that employers will have to solve by meeting the demands of each employee, or by reengaging with trade unions to create workplaces that people want to engage with.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/189752/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jonathan Lord does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Doing just the duties that your job requires has a long history in the labour movement.Jonathan Lord, Lecturer in Human Resource Management and Employment Law, University of SalfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1886172022-08-16T16:13:54Z2022-08-16T16:13:54ZQuiet quitting: why doing less at work could be good for you – and your employer<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/478934/original/file-20220812-12-dpkgnm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C11%2C3834%2C2144&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Could quiet quitting be for you?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/portrait-bored-young-asian-woman-typing-1928197478">1st footage / Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In many offices (not to mention on Zoom, Teams and Slack), employees and managers alike are whispering about the “great resignation”. The UK saw a <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-truth-about-the-great-resignation-who-changed-jobs-where-they-went-and-why-180159">sharp rise</a> in people quitting their jobs in 2021, and <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-05-24/almost-one-fifth-of-workers-set-to-leave-their-jobs-in-next-12-months">one fifth of UK workers</a> still say they plan to resign in the next year in search of greater job satisfaction and better pay.</p>
<p>If you’re unhappy at work, but leaving your job isn’t an option or there are no appealing alternatives, you may want to try “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/money/2022/aug/06/quiet-quitting-why-doing-the-bare-minimum-at-work-has-gone-global">quiet quitting</a>”. This trend of simply doing the bare minimum expected at work has <a href="https://www.worklife.news/culture/quiet-quitting/">taken off on TikTok</a> and clearly resonated with young people. </p>
<p>It has also frustrated managers, with some <a href="https://www.peoplemanagement.co.uk/article/1795213/quiet-quitting-hr-manage-it">reportedly concerned</a> about their employees slacking off. But quiet quitting is not about avoiding work, it is about not avoiding a meaningful life outside of work. </p>
<p>The last 20 years have seen many people join a <a href="https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20210507-why-we-glorify-the-cult-of-burnout-and-overwork">global culture of overwork</a>, with <a href="https://www.refinery29.com/en-gb/overtime-unpaid-work-pandemic">unpaid labour</a> becoming an expected part of many jobs. After multiple recessions and a global pandemic, millennials and generation z in particular often do not have the same job opportunities and financial security as their parents. </p>
<p>Many young people in professional jobs who expected a relatively straightforward progression in life have struggled with precarious contracts, job uncertainties and trying to get onto the housing ladder. There are those who constantly put in extra hours and go above and beyond at work to try and secure promotions and bonuses – yet still struggle.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Quarter life, a series by The Conversation" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><em><strong><a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/quarter-life-117947?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">This article is part of Quarter Life</a></strong>, a series about issues affecting those of us in our twenties and thirties. From the challenges of beginning a career and taking care of our mental health, to the excitement of starting a family, adopting a pet or just making friends as an adult. The articles in this series explore the questions and bring answers as we navigate this turbulent period of life.</em></p>
<p><em>You may be interested in:</em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/taking-a-mental-health-day-can-be-good-for-you-heres-how-to-make-the-most-of-one-186493?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">Taking a mental health day can be good for you – here’s how to make the most of one</a></em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-talk-to-your-employer-about-trauma-183251?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">How to talk to your employer about trauma</a></em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/influencer-is-now-a-popular-career-choice-for-young-people-heres-what-you-should-know-about-the-creator-economys-dark-side-185806?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">‘Influencer’ is now a popular career choice for young people – here’s what you should know about the creator economy’s dark side</a></em></p>
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<p>Perhaps in response to this disappointment, a recent study by <a href="https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/global/Documents/deloitte-2022-genz-millennial-survey.pdf">Deloitte</a> found young people are increasingly seeking flexibility and purpose in their work, and balance and satisfaction in their lives. Many young professionals are now rejecting the live-to-work lifestyle, by continuing to work but not allowing work to control them.</p>
<p>Working at minimal capacity may feel alien. But you (and your employer) shouldn’t fear quiet quitting – it could actually be good for you.</p>
<h2>Working less is good for mental health</h2>
<p>Studies have found that work-life balance is linked to mental health <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2019.1625417">in a variety</a> <a href="https://www.mentalhealthtoday.co.uk/news/workplace-mental-health/work-life-balance-is-causing-chronic-stress-and-burnout-for-frontline-workers-finds-study">of jobs</a>. And a 2021 survey of 2,017 UK workers <a href="https://employeebenefits.co.uk/52-uk-staff-do-not-have-good-work-life-balance/">by employer review website Glassdoor</a> found that over half felt they had poor work-life balance. Quiet quitting aims to restore balance where work has crept into your personal time. </p>
<p>It can also help to separate your self-worth from work. When all you have is work, it is hard not to derive your sense of value from it. </p>
<p>Perceived failures at work, such as not getting a promotion or recognition for your achievements, can become <a href="https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20210409-why-we-define-ourselves-by-our-jobs">internalised as personal failures</a>. This can increase anxiety, making you worry about how to improve your performance. Often, people respond by doing more work, further exacerbating the <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10902-018-0008-x">vicious cycle of overwork and low self-esteem</a>.</p>
<h2>The dangers of burnout</h2>
<p>When things get really bad it can result in burnout. In 2019, the World Health Organization officially <a href="https://www.who.int/news/item/28-05-2019-burn-out-an-occupational-phenomenon-international-classification-of-diseases">recognised burnout as an occupational phenomenon</a> characterised by feelings of depletion, exhaustion, cynicism, mental distance from work and poorer performance. Burnout is a significant risk of overwork and can have long-term physical, emotional and <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5627926/">mental health impacts</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.covermagazine.co.uk/news/4045795/burn-cost-businesses-700-annually-metlife">Burnout is difficult and costly for individuals and employers</a>. Many people with burnout end up taking time off work, or at least working at less than full capacity. Quiet quitting can create a better balance of work and personal life and so could protect against burnout before it happens.</p>
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<img alt="Young professionals laughing and playing table football in their office." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/478938/original/file-20220812-24-se218a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/478938/original/file-20220812-24-se218a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478938/original/file-20220812-24-se218a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478938/original/file-20220812-24-se218a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478938/original/file-20220812-24-se218a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478938/original/file-20220812-24-se218a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478938/original/file-20220812-24-se218a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Happy employees are better employees.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/businesswomen-watching-multicultural-colleagues-playing-table-1161914587">LightField Studios / Shutterstock</a></span>
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</figure>
<h2>Better work relationships</h2>
<p>Research shows that <a href="https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2019-10-24-happy-workers-are-13-more-productive">happier employees are more productive</a> and <a href="https://www.bluevolt.com/en-us/bluevoltblog/happiness-engagement-productivity-professional-development">engaged</a>. This can even mitigate against feeling distracted or not wanting to be present. </p>
<p>When people are feeling happy they are more likely to be friendlier and open, fostering workplace friendships, which people report as being a <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/11/13/why-work-friendships-are-critical-for-long-term-happiness.html">significant part of their enjoyment at work</a>. Quiet quitting’s focus on just doing your job also removes the negative impact of constantly <a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/JBIM-02-2019-0094/full/html">feeling in competition</a> with peers. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-your-colleagues-affect-your-home-life-and-vice-versa-175889">How your colleagues affect your home life (and vice versa)</a>
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</em>
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<p>Having workplace friendships taps in to our basic need for a sense of belonging and can in turn increase loyalty to a workplace and improve <a href="https://www.betterup.com/blog/belonging">job performance</a>. All of this can result in greater productivity, which of course means <a href="https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/businessreview/2019/07/15/happy-employees-and-their-impact-on-firm-performance/">higher profits</a>.</p>
<p>Quiet quitting could be a “great liberation” in response to the great resignation. People are rejecting overwork and burnout and choosing balance and joy. They are establishing boundaries so their identity and self-value is not tied to their work productivity.</p>
<p>Instead of getting nervous at loss of productivity, employers should take advantage of the quiet quitting movement to support the wellbeing of their staff. Encouraging a better work-life balance will communicate to workers that they are valued, leading to greater engagement, productivity, and loyalty: everyone wins.</p>
<div style="height: 410px;">
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nilufar Ahmed does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The mental health benefits of quiet quitting could make you a better employee and a happier person.Nilufar Ahmed, Senior Lecturer in Social Sciences, CPsychol, FHEA, University of BristolLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1855702022-06-27T12:16:41Z2022-06-27T12:16:41ZUnions fight to secure better pay and conditions for workers, but they can also benefit employers<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/470821/original/file-20220624-18-9g2eft.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=59%2C11%2C7880%2C2928&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Employees and their organisations can gain from union membership, research shows.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/business-partnership-handshake-concept-two-coworkers-720820906">SFIO CRACHO/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Over the past century, unions have successfully campaigned for a minimum wage, holiday and sickness pay, equal opportunity rights, maternity and paternity rights and a two-day weekend for British workers, <a href="https://www.indy100.com/politics/rmt-trade-unions-rail-strike">among other benefits</a>. </p>
<p>With more than 40,000 UK rail workers participating in the recent very visible <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-61906531">strike action</a>, discussions about why people might want to join a trade union have tended to focus on improving pay and working conditions. But unions can do much more for employees and even for employers. In fact, research shows their benefits can extend beyond individual organisations, boosting sectors and even the economy by reducing staff turnover, providing or promoting training and encouraging innovation. </p>
<p>Research from the <a href="https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/sites/068bb29d-en/index.html?itemId=/content/component/068bb29d-en">Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)</a> from 35 countries shows that individuals working in organisations where unions engaged in firm-level collective bargaining enjoy higher wages. </p>
<p>And, when pay and conditions are protected, employees are less likely to change jobs, certainly in the UK. Data published in 2021 by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) shows 47% of <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1077904/Trade_Union_Membership_UK_1995-2021_statistical_bulletin.pdf">unionised workers</a> worked for the same employer for ten years or more, compared to 29% of all employees. A <a href="https://www.tuc.org.uk/added-value-trade-unions">2017 analysis</a> of the national <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/workplace-employment-relations-study-wers">Work Employment Relations Survey</a> (WERS) data, commissioned by the Trades Union Congress, similarly found that staff were less likely to voluntarily leave unionised organisations. </p>
<p>While more recent survey evidence would be helpful – and the WERS analysis points out that data in this area can be sparse – it makes a number of other noteworthy conclusions. These relate to a positive correlation between innovation, attitude to work-life balance and off-the-job training at unionised organisations. Other research shows the <a href="https://hrnews.co.uk/the-importance-of-employee-learning-and-development/">benefits of training</a> in relation to worker retention and productivity.</p>
<h2>All for one</h2>
<p>So how have unions been able to have this kind of impact on working life? Collective bargaining is a major factor. The interests of employers and workers conflict and/or converge to varying extents at different points in time. And while unions attend disciplinary and grievance meetings with individual members, they also engage in collective bargaining on behalf of their members by negotiating with employers on pay and conditions. If negotiations break down and unions meet the <a href="https://www.ier.org.uk/resources/trade-union-act-2016-what-says-what-it-means/">Trade Union Act</a> balloting thresholds, members can organise <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-workers-go-on-strike-93815">strike action</a>. </p>
<p>It is at such times that union density – the percentage of employees who are union members – is key, particularly when it comes to collective bargaining. High union density within an organisation can be a powerful bargaining tool when strikes are threatened. </p>
<p>The impact of collective bargaining varies depending on the type of system adopted, according to <a href="https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/sites/068bb29d-en/index.html?itemId=/content/component/068bb29d-en">OECD research </a>. It shows that the best outcomes for employment levels, productivity and employee wages are achieved via collective bargaining that aligns wage and working conditions agreements across sectors, but also allows agreements to be adapted at the organisation level. This is known as “organised decentralisation” and is used in countries such as Austria, Denmark, Sweden and Germany.</p>
<p>On the other hand, the UK uses a fully decentralised system that limits the benefits of collective bargaining for workers, organisations and the wider economy. There is no pay coordination across sectors and bargaining units, very little if any government influence, and collective bargaining happens at the organisation level only rather than across sectors.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Two people walking past storage containers wear hard hats and high-visibility clothing, plane flying overhead." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/470824/original/file-20220624-26-qz8s83.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/470824/original/file-20220624-26-qz8s83.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470824/original/file-20220624-26-qz8s83.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470824/original/file-20220624-26-qz8s83.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470824/original/file-20220624-26-qz8s83.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470824/original/file-20220624-26-qz8s83.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470824/original/file-20220624-26-qz8s83.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The transport and storage sector is one of four UK industries with the highest union density.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/industrial-worker-works-coworker-overseas-shipping-2037948062">Blue Planet Studio/Shutterstock</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>Further strikes by rail workers <a href="https://inews.co.uk/news/train-strikes-when-next-rmt-rail-strike-dates-this-week-walkouts-1704720">could happen</a> in coming weeks and there is growing discontent among other workers, including <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-61923815">British Airways</a> staff, <a href="https://www.itv.com/news/2022-06-22/teaching-union-threatens-to-strike-with-demand-for-inflation-beating-pay-rise">teachers</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/jun/25/nhs-staff-should-get-4-percent-pay-rise-independent-experts-say">NHS workers</a>. Unions will be at the forefront of any negotiations between these workers, their employers and the government. Industries with higher union density will bring more power to the negotiating table.</p>
<p>The percentage of unionised workers varies across sectors, industries and age groups in the UK, however. About half (50.1)% of UK public sector employees and 12.8% of private sector employees were unionised in 2021. The four industries with the highest union density are education (49.4%), human health and social work activities (39.2%), public administration and defence (38.6%) and transport and storage (36.6%). Employees over 35 years of age made up 63% of the UK’s overall employees and 76% of unionised employees in 2021. Only 4.3% of union members were aged between 16 and 24 years old and 19.8% were aged between 25 and 34 years old. </p>
<p>One reason for lower membership levels among younger workers is that they are more likely to be in <a href="https://theconversation.com/unions-rally-to-support-young-people-in-precarious-jobs-46657">precarious employment</a> with less access to unions. For example, one-third of those aged between 18 and 34 years old returned to the workforce after the pandemic via the “<a href="https://standout-cv.com/gig-economy-statistics-uk">gig economy</a>. ONS data also shows that 15.1% of workers in temporary positions are unionised compared to 23.7% of workers in permanent positions. Yet, a June 2022 <a href="https://yougov.co.uk/topics/economy/survey-results/daily/2022/06/08/d6f7e/3">YouGov poll </a> shows 49% of respondents aged between 18 and 24 years old support the rail strikes, with older age groups showing less support. </p>
<p>The potential for strike action across several industries in coming months relates to societal issues such as <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-05-17/u-k-cost-of-living-squeeze-intensifies-with-drop-in-real-wages">decreasing real income</a>. Dialogue between unions, employers and government could help address these concerns without the need for strike action. In fact, research shows that collective bargaining by unions can benefit both sides – companies and employees – as well as society. But, as we have seen in recent weeks, its failure can create significant disruption in workplaces with strong union membership.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/185570/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Emma Sara Hughes does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Collective bargaining carried out by unions can ultimately benefit employers, not just employees.Emma Sara Hughes, Lecturer in Human Resource Management, University of LiverpoolLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1822722022-05-31T13:58:23Z2022-05-31T13:58:23ZThe folly of the work-life balance<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462876/original/file-20220512-19-wpue39.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C8%2C5991%2C3979&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The TV show 'Severance' has employees separate their work self from their home self completely.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.apple.com/ca/tv-pr/originals/severance/episodes-images/">(Apple TV+)</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Ontario employers have until June 2 to craft <a href="https://www.ontario.ca/document/your-guide-employment-standards-act-0/written-policy-disconnecting-from-work?">a written policy on disconnecting from work</a>. Will companies take inspiration from the <a href="https://tv.apple.com/ca/show/severance/umc.cmc.1srk2goyh2q2zdxcx605w8vtx">television series <em>Severance</em></a> where workers volunteer to have their work self and home self surgically severed? </p>
<p>Although companies are unlikely to be inserting chips into the brains of their employees anytime soon, the show points to the ultimate paradox of the work-life balance: relieving the stress of work or home life requires complete submission to a powerful corporation that takes control of the worker’s body. </p>
<p><em>Severance’s</em> dystopian message mimics today’s all-encompassing digital capitalism: <a href="http://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A287386111/LitRC?u=utoronto_main&sid=bookmark-LitRC&xid=67039a00">there is no escape</a>. </p>
<p>The pandemic threw into disarray any semblance of a work-life balance, and <a href="https://www.canadianlawyermag.com/practice-areas/labour-and-employment/mandating-the-right-to-disconnect-in-ontario/364222">Ontario’s right-to-disconnect legislation</a> reflects that working from home, for at least part of the week, has become permanent. </p>
<p>The pandemic was not the beginning of this disarray, however, but rather its culmination. Right-to-disconnect <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-38479439">policies preceded the pandemic</a> by at least six years. </p>
<h2>Separation of work from home life</h2>
<p>The work-life balance is about more than shutting off devices or abstaining from emails and meetings after 6 p.m. — which is the gist of Ontario’s definition of disconnecting from work. </p>
<p>Monte McNaughton, Ontario’s minister of labour, training and skills development, <a href="https://www.wsps.ca/resource-hub/articles/q-a-with-monte-mcnaughton-on-ontarios-new-disconnecting-from-work-policy">describes his rational for the policy</a>: “I believe we should be able to separate work time and personal time. I want people to be able to spend quality time with their kids and their spouses.” </p>
<p>Imagining work as separate from home life has its roots in the <a href="https://utorontopress.com/9781487525439/in-the-suburbs-of-history/">Anglo-American suburban model</a>: drive along newly built highways to the downtown office in the morning and retreat home to family in the suburban idyll. </p>
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<img alt="Suburbs overlooking the city in Rancho Mission Viejo, California." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462865/original/file-20220512-2641-sgxinv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462865/original/file-20220512-2641-sgxinv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462865/original/file-20220512-2641-sgxinv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462865/original/file-20220512-2641-sgxinv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462865/original/file-20220512-2641-sgxinv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462865/original/file-20220512-2641-sgxinv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462865/original/file-20220512-2641-sgxinv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The physical separation of work from home is no longer easy.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(T M/Unsplash)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>One of the keenest observers of the separation of work from family life was suburban planner and theorist Humphrey Carver, <a href="https://utorontopress.com/9781442652576/cities-in-the-suburbs/">who wrote in 1962</a> that bureaucratic work lacked the nobility of labour, so the living spaces in the suburbs should encourage people to leave their work behind, and let them be consumers and community members. </p>
<p><em>Severance’s</em> surgical procedure means that access to memories become spatially dictated. When severed workers arrive at Lumon Industries, they enter the elevator as their home self, and leave the elevator as their work self. </p>
<p>These scenes of coming to and leaving work were shot in the <a href="https://www.architectmagazine.com/design/culture/the-bargain-that-revived-bell-labs">Bell Labs Holmdel office park</a> in suburban New Jersey. The complex was constructed over a five-year period (1957-62) and designed by noted modernist architect Eero Saarinen, who pioneered a new genre of architecture: <a href="https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691166674/cities-of-knowledge">the suburban corporate campus</a>. </p>
<p>The building is a monument to the modernist esthetics of separation: generous parking lots, artificial lakes, rustic surroundings, an oval ring road that separates cars and pedestrians and a water tower that looks like it grew right out of <a href="https://repository.law.umich.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1927&context=articles">American technological optimism</a> and domination. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="An aerial view of Bell Labs Holmdel Complex" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462866/original/file-20220512-21-3fwuym.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=13%2C0%2C2989%2C1994&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462866/original/file-20220512-21-3fwuym.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462866/original/file-20220512-21-3fwuym.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462866/original/file-20220512-21-3fwuym.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462866/original/file-20220512-21-3fwuym.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462866/original/file-20220512-21-3fwuym.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462866/original/file-20220512-21-3fwuym.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Bell Labs Holmdel Complex functioned for 44 years as a research and development facility and is where several scenes of ‘Severance’ were shot.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bell_Labs_Holmdel.jpg">(MBisanz/Wikimedia Commons)</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Separation</h2>
<p>If the suburban corporate office park was part of the evolution of work—life, futurist Alvin Toffler took it one step further <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/179102/the-third-wave-by-alvin-toffler/">in his book, <em>The Third Wave</em></a>. He wrote, overturn the 9-to-5 workday, erode the distinction between work and home life and turn the home into an electronic cottage. Basically, a worker living in a home equipped with a personal computer and networked connection has no need for an office. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/working-from-home-during-covid-19-what-do-employees-really-want-148424">Working from home during COVID-19: What do employees really want?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Forty years before the pandemic forced us into working from home, Toffler made the electronic cottage and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1979/10/15/archives/workers-find-flextime-makes-for-flexible-living-in-time-with-body.html">flexibility and flextime</a>, the key aspects of the shift to post-industrial work. </p>
<p>Toffler saw it differently — post-capitalist and post-socialist — but it turned out to be ready made for the digital capitalism of Amazon, Google and Apple, whose business model depends on the erosion of boundaries: ordering goods from home, working, editing and meeting at home, all on phones, iPads and laptops. </p>
<p>Toffler was an influential public figure, but he was simply charting changes that began in the 1970s as corporations asked for, if not demanded, the whole you, <a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/soul-work">body and soul</a> and promoted flexibility — corporate speak for the end of permanent work and the rise of <a href="https://www.plutobooks.com/9780745334035/cyber-proletariat/">precarious and unstable employment</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A group of people stand in a stark white room that has a long hallway with cubicles on the edge of the photo." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462877/original/file-20220512-22-bl0uyx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462877/original/file-20220512-22-bl0uyx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=250&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462877/original/file-20220512-22-bl0uyx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=250&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462877/original/file-20220512-22-bl0uyx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=250&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462877/original/file-20220512-22-bl0uyx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=314&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462877/original/file-20220512-22-bl0uyx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=314&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462877/original/file-20220512-22-bl0uyx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=314&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In ‘Severance’ work life and home life being separate means at work, the characters never feel rested.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Apple TV+)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Separation has always been in part artificial, particularly for women managing the household, whose unpaid labour was, and is often still, exploited and inseparable from the home. This was exacerbated during the worst waves of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/14680777.2020.1765293">the pandemic</a>. One sub-plot in <em>Severance</em> has women undergoing the procedure to out-source their labour — the baby birthing kind — to their surrogate self. </p>
<p>The irony of <em>Severance</em> is that the “work you” feels like you have never left the office, even though your actual body has recharged away from work. </p>
<p>Edelman, a global communications company, which instituted a policy of <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/work-emails-disconnect-ontario-legislation-1.6224826">no email between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. in 2013</a>, offered this reason for the policy: “We really want to encourage that space because when you have a bit of recharge time, you actually are going to be a <em>better version of yourself</em> for our clients.”</p>
<p>Lumon’s philosophy is the ultimate, unresolved contradiction: united in severance. It is an apt description for the state of the work-life balance.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/182272/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Steven Logan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The work-life balance is about more than shutting off devices or abstaining from emails and meetings after 6 p.m.Steven Logan, Postdoctoral Researcher, Institute for Communication, Culture, Information and Technology, University of TorontoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1823672022-05-23T12:22:51Z2022-05-23T12:22:51ZAntiquated thinking about old age hinders Canada’s economic and social development<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/463816/original/file-20220518-26-v3cvl3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C12%2C4059%2C2103&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">No one suddenly becomes old and unproductive on their 65th birthday, so a reformulation of both working age and retirement is sorely warranted.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/antiquated-thinking-about-old-age-hinders-canada-s-economic-and-social-development" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>Governments in Canada <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canada-working-age-poupulation-census-1.6432398">define working age</a> as being between 15 and 65, but this misrepresents the lives of Canadians. </p>
<p>The 2016 census found that <a href="https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/as-sa/98-200-x/2016027/98-200-x2016027-eng.cfm">one-in-five Canadians aged 65 and older — nearly 1.1 million people — are still working and that one-third do so full-time</a>. </p>
<p>Many in the private sector and those who are self-employed work well past age 65, which explains why the <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=1410006001">average retirement age in Canada is now 64.4</a>, an increase of three years in two decades.</p>
<h2>False assumptions about turning 65</h2>
<p>Although mandatory retirement <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/mandatory-retirement-fades-in-canada-1.799697">at age 65 was eliminated more than a decade ago</a>, laws and public policy, including Statistics Canada definitions, continue to assume that everyone retires at 65. </p>
<p>In many provinces, workers’ compensation laws only <a href="https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/2022/04/12/seniors-deserve-workplace-injury-benefits.html">pay injured workers for their loss of earnings until they turn 65</a>, or for two years if they were older than 63 when injured at the workplace. </p>
<p>The obligations of employers to rehire workers following an injury only apply until someone turns 65. </p>
<p>Employers aren’t required to <a href="https://www.nortonrosefulbright.com/en/knowledge/publications/f6000f38/human-rights-tribunal-of-ontario-denying-workplace-group-benefits-coverage-to-employees-aged-65-and-older-unconstitutional">provide medical and dental benefits, or life and disability insurance, to workers 65 and over</a>. There may be no difference whatsoever among the skills, abilities and job duties of an employee aged 64 and one aged 65, but one receives benefits while the other does not.</p>
<p>There is nothing magical about turning 65. A reformulation of both working age and retirement is sorely warranted to strengthen Canada’s economic and social development. <a href="https://theconversation.com/retirement-age-is-increasing-but-our-new-study-reveals-most-only-work-ten-years-in-good-health-after-50-141227">Other countries have already done so</a>. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/retirement-age-is-increasing-but-our-new-study-reveals-most-only-work-ten-years-in-good-health-after-50-141227">Retirement age is increasing – but our new study reveals most only work ten years in good health after 50</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Recent development</h2>
<p>Setting age 65 as the entry to old age is a relatively recent development.</p>
<p>Germany, the first nation to adopt an old-age social insurance program in 1889, <a href="https://www.ssa.gov/history/age65.html">set the eligibility age at 70</a>. <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/30303471">Newfoundland’s old age pension</a>, established in 1911, set 75 as the minimum age to receive benefits. Canada’s Old Age Pension Act, which was in effect from 1927 to 1952, <a href="https://www.historymuseum.ca/cmc/exhibitions/hist/pensions/cpp-timeline_e.html">set the pensionable age at 70</a>. </p>
<p>In the mid-1960s, when the Canada Pension Plan was introduced, <a href="https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/old-age-pension">65 was established as the age to receive a full pension</a> and to receive Old Age Security payments. Canadian workers’ 65th birthday became the universal marker of their exit from the labour market and official entry into old age.</p>
<p>Demographers and other experts say we should <a href="https://www.benefitscanada.com/news/bencan/head-to-head-is-it-time-to-change-the-retirement-age/">revisit the definition of “old age” and “retirement age,”</a> because using 65 is increasingly inappropriate as people live longer and healthier lives than ever. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1117792407540596737"}"></div></p>
<p>As well, compared to several decades ago, Canadians are spending more years in post-secondary education, resulting in a later start to full-time work. </p>
<p>Work itself has also changed, <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/200115/dq200115a-eng.htm">with a fewer and fewer occupations requiring intense physical labour</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A grey-haired man walks down a stone staircase tucking his phone into an inside jacket pocket." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/463760/original/file-20220517-22-5v75rf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5760%2C3802&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/463760/original/file-20220517-22-5v75rf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463760/original/file-20220517-22-5v75rf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463760/original/file-20220517-22-5v75rf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463760/original/file-20220517-22-5v75rf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463760/original/file-20220517-22-5v75rf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463760/original/file-20220517-22-5v75rf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Most jobs don’t require heavy physical labour anymore.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Andrea Piacquadio, Pexels)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Reconsidering what’s meant by old</h2>
<p>There are ways to update the definition of old age that would have clear social and economic benefits. </p>
<p>One is to have several markers for “old,” such as “young old age” for those aged 65-74; “middle old age” for those 75-84 and “advanced old age” for those 85 and above.</p>
<p>This recognizes the diversity among people 65 and older, permitting politicians and other stakeholders to design more sensitive and age-appropriate policies for each of these three distinct demographic groups. </p>
<p>For instance, working past age 65 has been shown to have <a href="https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/working-later-in-life-can-pay-off-in-more-than-just-income">health benefits for some groups</a> and therefore should not be discouraged for the “young old.”</p>
<p>A second option is to adjust the age that marks the official entry into old age — currently 65 — to account for increasing longevity. A century ago, Canadians reaching age 65 could expect to live for another 13 years. At present, men reaching 65 will live 18 more years, <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/11-630-x/11-630-x2016002-eng.htm">while women will live 22 more years</a>. </p>
<p>With longer life expectancy, it only makes sense to have the age marker for old age set higher. This option has been <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/6199168/is-70-the-new-65-healthy-aging/">proposed in the United Kingdom</a> and is often accompanied by the proclamation: “70 is the new 65.”</p>
<p>Lastly, old age could be made more gender-sensitive. Women live longer on average than men, and so are classified as older for a longer period of time. The latest Canadian census finds <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canadian-centenarians-census-2021-1.6436494">there are more than 9,000 centenarians in Canada</a>, mostly women, each of whom has been defined as old for nearly a third of their lives. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="An older blonde woman sits between two younger people in an office meeting." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/463739/original/file-20220517-14-119yq9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C6720%2C4476&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/463739/original/file-20220517-14-119yq9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463739/original/file-20220517-14-119yq9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463739/original/file-20220517-14-119yq9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463739/original/file-20220517-14-119yq9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463739/original/file-20220517-14-119yq9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463739/original/file-20220517-14-119yq9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Women live longer than men and now make up a large portion of the labour force.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Geared towards men</h2>
<p>Using the same definition of old for both women and men is a reflection that, historically, retirement and pension ages were set for men and not women because fewer women worked outside the home. </p>
<p>Because women live longer on average than men, they must work longer to have similar retirement savings, but that’s <a href="https://financialpost.com/moneywise-pro/what-to-do-about-womens-retirement-income-gap">not possible if they retire at the same age as their male counterparts</a>. </p>
<p>A revised conception of old age would significantly decrease the number of people classified as old and would more accurately reflect the total number of people in Canada’s working age population. A modern definition would also <a href="https://financialpost.com/fp-work/why-is-it-still-considered-ok-to-be-ageist">mitigate stereotypes of older workers and ageism</a> while prodding governments to reform outdated laws and <a href="https://www.thestar.com/politics/political-opinion/2022/04/27/almost-ready-to-retire-canada-needs-you-to-stick-around.html">provide a boost to an economy often facing worker shortages</a>. </p>
<p>Increasing the age at which Canadians are considered old is surely a political easy sell. After all, who could be opposed to being regarded as younger?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/182367/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Thomas Klassen does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A revised retirement age would significantly decrease the number of people classified as ‘old’ and would more accurately reflect the total number of working people in Canada.Thomas Klassen, Professor, School of Public Policy and Administration, York University, CanadaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1816022022-04-25T20:01:46Z2022-04-25T20:01:46Z‘It’s not work-life balance, it’s work-work balance’ Politicians tell us what it’s like to be an MP<p>We are currently watching candidates battle night and day to win a spot in federal parliament. Many put their lives on hold trying to become an MP. </p>
<p>What is it like when they get there?</p>
<p>In recent years, Australian politicians have been under immense pressure, responding to COVID-19, floods, fires and international war. Yet, research repeatedly shows Australians’ <a href="https://theconversation.com/trust-in-politicians-and-government-is-at-an-all-time-low-the-next-government-must-work-to-fix-that-110886">trust of political leaders</a> is at an all-time low. This is not helped by the constant scandals, power struggles, as well as alleged cases of bullying and corruption. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/this-worked-much-better-than-i-thought-why-you-need-to-watch-out-for-strategic-lies-in-the-federal-election-177449">'This worked much better than I thought.' Why you need to watch out for strategic lies in the federal election</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>We recently interviewed politicians about their experiences, providing insight into the personal challenges of being a politician, including the loneliness and limited control over workloads. This is not to suggest we give politicians an easy ride (or excuse corruption), but to better understand some of the demands of a job they do on behalf of us all.</p>
<h2>Our study</h2>
<p>As part of research into what it’s like to lead during a crisis, we spoke with 13 Australian politicians between March and December 2021. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Prime Minister Scott Morrison plays lawn bowls." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/459023/original/file-20220421-34130-ng3wci.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/459023/original/file-20220421-34130-ng3wci.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459023/original/file-20220421-34130-ng3wci.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459023/original/file-20220421-34130-ng3wci.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459023/original/file-20220421-34130-ng3wci.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459023/original/file-20220421-34130-ng3wci.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459023/original/file-20220421-34130-ng3wci.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Prime Minister Scott Morrison plays lawn bowls at a retirement village in Caboolture on day 11 of the federal election campaign.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mick Tsikas/AAP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>They included federal and state MPs and ministers, as well as mayors of local government.</p>
<p>Interviewees came from right across the political spectrum, but for ethical reasons, participants are not named.</p>
<h2>The most challenging role</h2>
<p>The politicians we spoke to described leadership as “very difficult” and a “responsibility”. It naturally also comes with high levels of scrutiny and criticism.</p>
<p>One interviewee noted: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>I think the biggest challenge of leadership is having to make the hard decisions, knowing that there are times when you’ve got to make some decisions that will have a negative impact on people.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Another told us: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>[Politics is] the most physically, intellectually, emotionally challenging role I could imagine.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Interviewees said serving the public was their primary objective, but they were well aware that their motives were questioned by constituents and the broader public. </p>
<blockquote>
<p>The systems that we have favour people who seek power, but not every politician does […] There are politicians that are more than happy to find an answer even if they don’t get credit for it. But there are others that will only do things that they can claim [credit for].</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>A lonely job</h2>
<p>Some politicians talked about feeling isolated. They were unsure whom to trust, whom to confide in, and whom to involve in key decisions. As one former premier observed: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>It can be quite lonely […] You are often alone, and I noticed that particularly when I moved into the role of premier.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Federal politicians also spoke of physical isolation when in Canberra – away not just from constituents and families, but their colleagues. </p>
<blockquote>
<p>We start work at 9 o'clock. We finish at 8.30 at night. We’re not allowed to leave the building. So, there isn’t a system where we gather around a coffee machine even. It just doesn’t happen. We’re in our own offices. And then, we meet for a particular purpose and then we separate again.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Bringing stress home</h2>
<p>It is not uncommon for politicians to speak publicly about the impact politics has on their personal lives. For many, time away from family is what leads them to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/jan/19/kelly-odwyer-announces-shock-resignation-ahead-of-election">eventually leave office</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Anthony Albanese greets a dog." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/459024/original/file-20220421-60408-hxxhx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/459024/original/file-20220421-60408-hxxhx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459024/original/file-20220421-60408-hxxhx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459024/original/file-20220421-60408-hxxhx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459024/original/file-20220421-60408-hxxhx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459024/original/file-20220421-60408-hxxhx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459024/original/file-20220421-60408-hxxhx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Labor leader Anthony Albanese greets a dog at a retirement village in Nowra on day 11 of the campaign.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Lukas Coch/AAP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Our interviewees also spoke about this problem – as well as the issue of bringing work stress home to their loved ones. </p>
<blockquote>
<p>You know someone told me once if 30% of the electorate doesn’t want to shoot you, then you are not doing their job properly. Politics is a blood sport and so it can get very personal and so I think that that has a significant impact on your family. A lot of members of parliament in public figures, their families really suffer as a result.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Maintaining any sort of work-life balance was near-impossible. </p>
<blockquote>
<p>I don’t have weekends anymore [or] public holidays. I’m often juggling family time with work time. Often, I feel guilty about that as well. But yeah, certainly the guilt of leadership and commitment to the job can take its toll because of the time that it takes up, being available all the time.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Another interviewee - a federal politician - spoke of how they don’t have “control” of their days or weeks. </p>
<blockquote>
<p>We spend 20 weeks of the year in Canberra […] there’s an irregularity about our work and a lot of it is reactive, we don’t have the control of our working lives. So, it’s not work-life balance, it’s work-work balance.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Constantly available</h2>
<p>Political journalist Katharine Murphy has <a href="https://meanjin.com.au/essays/political-life/">previously written</a> about the “urelenting” demands of political life, noting, “the environment parliamentarians work in is a pressure cooker”.</p>
<p>The incessant nature of the media cycle, coupled with the personal nature of social media and mobile phones, means politicians can never escape their work. One interviewee told us: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Emails on phones were not a thing that existed when I first ran for politics. So [there’s] the idea that you are constantly available, that people can tweet at you, or Facebook message you any time, day or night. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>This not only subjected them to constant requests, but also to anger and abuse, as other public figures - such as <a href="https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/tv/current-affairs/leigh-sales-deletes-twitter-account-after-interview-with-scott-morrison/news-story/93049d0b0bd836787bb18337d523fe1c">high-profile journalists</a> – have also spoken about. As one MP told us: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>I don’t blame people for expressing frustration, anger, or disappointment, but the political class, in some ways, have become a place where it’s legitimate to direct your anger, disappointment, and frustration in the most direct terms, and individually sometimes at political representatives on social media. And that’s really changed the landscape.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Who wins if politicians are overworked?</h2>
<p>The politicians we interviewed seem to be devoted to their work and keen to do good for the community. They were not seeking an easy ride from the public, the media, or their opponents. Indeed, we need tough scrutiny of our political leaders for very good reasons. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="NSW Premier Dominic Perrotet gives a press conference at state parliament." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/459025/original/file-20220421-56929-wj3i74.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/459025/original/file-20220421-56929-wj3i74.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459025/original/file-20220421-56929-wj3i74.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459025/original/file-20220421-56929-wj3i74.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459025/original/file-20220421-56929-wj3i74.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459025/original/file-20220421-56929-wj3i74.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459025/original/file-20220421-56929-wj3i74.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Politicians told us about not having holidays or weekends, due to work demands.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Dean Lewins/AAP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But a political career also needs to be sustainable. </p>
<p>As a community, we need more understanding of the pressures and demands of being a politician, and a serious examination of how our political system functions on a daily basis. </p>
<p>As one interviewee told us: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>I think people expect that their leaders find the job intellectually challenging, I wonder how much the community understands how physically and emotionally challenging leadership is, and the extent of the demand that it places, not just on the individual, but on their family, their friends, their physical health.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>If our politicians are less stressed and less exhausted, surely they will make better decisions and be better representatives.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/181602/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ataus Samad is affiliated with the following organisation:
Australian & New Zealand Academy of Management
Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business
Ethnic Communities Council of NSW Inc
In the past,I worked with the politicians as a party member, employee and advisory board member.
Currently I am working as a lecturer at the Western Sydney University. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ann Dadich receives funding from the Sydney Partnership for Health Education Research and Enterprise. Furthermore, she is affiliated with the Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management and the Australian Psychological Society.
</span></em></p>According to one interviewee, politics is the ‘most physically, intellectually, emotionally challenging role’ they can think of.Ataus Samad, Lecturer, Western Sydney UniversityAnn Dadich, Associate Professor, Western Sydney UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1775822022-04-13T14:15:50Z2022-04-13T14:15:50ZCan we ever fully separate our work and home lives? Philosophy suggests we should stop trying<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/448101/original/file-20220223-15-tjypry.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=47%2C6%2C4446%2C2519&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-illustration/army-artificial-workers-3d-illustration-1070149298">Photobank.kiev.ua / Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>If you could take work-life balance to its most literal extreme, what would it look like? That’s the central theme of Severance, the sci-fi series that has just finished airing on Apple TV. </p>
<p>Employees working for the fictional corporation Lumon are able to undergo a procedure where their consciousness and memories are divided between work and home. Employees who have been “severed” do not remember anything about their life at work when they clock out, or anything about their home life during working hours. </p>
<p>Severance quickly becomes unsettling when it is implied that in isolating the memories of someone’s work life, a new person is created – a slave who lives only to work. These “new” employees (people’s work-selves) are told they can leave the office whenever they like, but inevitably find themselves sent back to work by their home life counterparts who don’t want to lose their jobs and do not have to endure the horror of living only in the office. </p>
<p>It’s safe to say most of us wouldn’t undergo such a procedure – after all, work is also a place where we make friends who can even <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-your-colleagues-affect-your-home-life-and-vice-versa-175889">help us</a> in our home lives. But the concept presented in Severance raises deep philosophical questions about the relationship between our memories and ourselves.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Quarter life, a series by The Conversation" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><em>Working to make a difference in the world but struggling to save for a home. Trying to live sustainably while dealing with mental health issues. For those of us in our twenties and thirties, these are the kinds of problems we deal with every day. <strong><a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/quarter-life-117947?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">This article is part of Quarter Life</a></strong>, a series that explores those issues and comes up with solutions.</em></p>
<p><em>More articles:</em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/news-of-war-can-impact-your-mental-health-heres-how-to-cope-178734?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">News of war can impact your mental health – here’s how to cope</a></em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/would-you-bring-your-dog-to-a-shop-why-retailers-should-be-more-pet-friendly-178112?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">Would you bring your dog to a shop? Why retailers should be more pet-friendly</a></em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/why-it-makes-good-business-sense-for-your-employer-to-look-after-your-mental-health-177503?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">Why it makes good business sense for your employer to look after your mental health</a></em></p>
<hr>
<p>The show trades on the idea that personhood can be reduced to one’s conscious experiences. The idea being that “I” am the sum total of my remembered experiences, thoughts, desires and emotions, and that my life is the narrative these memories come together to form. As one Lumon employee puts it, “History makes us someone”. There is a rich tradition of philosophical thinking about memory that shares this way of understanding personal identity, most often associated with the 17th-century thinker John Locke. </p>
<p>Questions about personhood – what makes you <em>you</em> and not somebody else – were very important at Locke’s time of writing. For many 17th-century thinkers (for whom Christianity was part of the fabric of society, and atheism was virtually inconceivable), it was a given that after our mortal lives, we would go on to live some kind of afterlife. But who exactly will live that life? </p>
<p><a href="https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/locke-personal-identity/">Locke’s answer</a> is that for everyone, “consciousness always accompanies thinking, and ‘tis that, that makes every one to be, what he calls self”. In other words, I am what I am conscious of. He adds that “as far as this consciousness can be extended backwards to any past action or thought, so far reaches the identity of that person”. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dTqlZkvbNVg?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>Locke teaches us that whatever I remember doing – and <em>only</em> what I remember doing – was done by me. Thus, so long as I continue to have conscious experiences in the afterlife (and remember my past ones), I continue to exist.</p>
<p>The case of literal work-life severance is interesting precisely because the process creates a new person – one who comes into existence (starts being conscious) only when the severing procedure is over. Since that new person only remembers being conscious at work, that person only exists at work. This also seems to be how people within Severance are thinking about things. By cutting myself from my work life, I can avoid having the stresses of work “leak” into the rest of my life, and be a different person when I clock out. </p>
<h2>The Locke problem</h2>
<p>The early episodes of the show suggest that the seemingly neat separation of work-me and home-me is going to cause problems. Likewise, philosophers who responded to Locke – 18th-century thinkers like <a href="https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/berkeley/">George Berkeley</a> and <a href="https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/reid/">Thomas Reid</a> – pointed out that his account of personhood leads to absurdities. </p>
<p>Am I not the baby who was born on my birthday, because I don’t remember it? Will I not be the old man living through the 2050s if I don’t remember this particular day in 2022? Am I to be absolved of any crimes I commit when I get blackout drunk because I am not, now, in the cold light of day, conscious of them? Such questions led these thinkers to develop alternative accounts of what makes me <em>me</em> – perhaps it’s my soul?. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A man's feet with a professional shoe on the right foot, and a casual sneaker on the left foot" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/448097/original/file-20220223-17-1c9bddt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/448097/original/file-20220223-17-1c9bddt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=300&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/448097/original/file-20220223-17-1c9bddt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=300&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/448097/original/file-20220223-17-1c9bddt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=300&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/448097/original/file-20220223-17-1c9bddt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/448097/original/file-20220223-17-1c9bddt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/448097/original/file-20220223-17-1c9bddt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">What if our work and home selves were completely different people – literally?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/work-life-balance-concept-low-section-1185354394">Black Salmon / Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>There are signs that within the world of Severance, there is more to a person than what they can remember. In the opening episode, the main character goes home to find that he has a cut on his forehead from an accident at work that of course, he cannot remember. This is an ominous sign that the scars that your work-self accrues are scars on you, and not some other person. More worryingly, perhaps this means that severed employees are subjecting <em>themselves</em> to a tortuous existence – one made worse by the fact that they cannot remember it. </p>
<p>There are <a href="https://existentialcomics.com/comic/1">good reasons</a> to believe that who “I” am is more than just what I remember – after all, many things have happened to me that I cannot easily recall. How many of us struggle to remember big moments in life, like job interviews? </p>
<p>The timing of Severance’s release is interesting because, after two years of working from home, genuine work-life separation seems less realistic than ever. For many, “work” is not some place we leave home for every morning, but perhaps a spare room or a kitchen table. Consequently, many of us are looking for ways to establish a clean divide between work and our personal lives. But – in line with the message at the heart of Severance – perhaps instead, we should be trying to make peace between the different parts of our lives and thereby understand our full selves better.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/177582/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter West does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Apple TV’s Severance imagines what would happen to our sense of self if we could completely separate our work and home lives.Peter West, Teaching Fellow in Philosophy, Durham UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.