Changes In The Way We Work

Yes, the recession has been tough. Yes, many people lost their jobs. Did anything positive come from this difficult time? I guess that depends on your point of view.

According to a survey done by the Department of Labor, Americans are spending more of their time engaged in simple, inexpensive activities with family and friends and less time shopping. Think of activities such as gardening, cooking, hiking, or visiting museums.

While some of these behaviors can be attributed to having less money to spend, the trend in the savings rate suggests that it goes beyond that. The savings rate has risen from 1 percent of income in 2007 to 4 percent in 2009. Will these behavioral shifts affect the workplace? Quite possibly.

As it stands now, many companies depend on professionals and middle managers to put in long hours and sacrifice family and personal time for work pursuits. In addition, the vast majority of managers in U.S. based organizations are accustomed to taking either less vacation time or less consecutive time off than managers in European based firms and elsewhere.

This may be changing, however. Due to cutbacks and less available cash, many firms were forced to let members of management go. An optimistic view of the situation is that this presented said management with more personal time. According to a Boston Consulting Group experiment, spending more time away from work may prove beneficial for both managers AND the organization.

In the study, BCG required its most overworked team members to take one day off each week. No phone calls or emails were allowed during that day. Team members not only enjoyed the time off, but also improved internal communications and handled projects more efficiently. A similar project sponsored by a non-profit called the Bold Initiative found that giving team members the flexibility to adjust their work schedules around their personal lives increased employee satisfaction and improved productivity.

While there is certainly no definitive answer as to whether the shifts triggered by the recession will be permanent, companies may benefit by implementing policies that allow for more flexibility and time off. You never know, less time at work could equal more productivity.

　
--LeAnn Carlson, CPA is the Audit Manager for Cook & Associates, a full-service public accounting firm with offices in San Marcos and San Antonio, TX.