“The 8-hour working day is over”. True or false?
LBS Debating Society discusses whether the standard working day is defunct
London Business School’s Debating Society invited LBS Professor of Management Practice in Organisational Behaviour Lynda Gratton, an expert on the world of work, to debate whether the 8-hour working day is over.
Those in favour of this statement debated that the 8-hour working day is a vestige of the industrial revolution, which is simply no longer valid in a post-industrial society. Debaters argued that the inflexibility works against many groups of people and stops them from working – something that works against society’s move to be more inclusive.
Furthermore, because we can now measure output rather than hours worked and the processes exist to move from an hours-based performance process, there is no real reason for such inflexibility. It is increasingly possible for many jobs to have flexibility around time and it is well known that when an employee has autonomy, their wellbeing increases.
Those debating against, expressed a view that individualism erodes community identity, decreasing collaboration and the social process. They argued that focussing only on outcome is an economic paradigm; more focus about where value is created is required.
There are significant regulatory and tax implications associated with the 8-hour working day being over. More importantly, removing it can lead to unfairness within an organisation because only some employees can be flexible.
Not having an 8-hour working day puts a significant emphasis on performance management – which is both adaptive and tactical –, missing out the more innovative aspects of adaptive. There is a question mark over whether it is fair that those who put in more hours and work harder, are treated the same as those who opt for fewer hours. This also places a significant burden on managers who face the issue of procedural justice.
Finally, the debaters gave voice to another consideration in that autonomy is only one aspect of working life that creates employee engagement. Mastery and purpose are also important considerations that need to be taken into account.
Whether or not the 8-hour working day is over, recent changes in the world of work are all part of the long evolution of work, an evolution that many employees might feel that we need to continue.
