Why Employers Should Ditch The 9-5

After sitting in tedious traffic for the sixth time this week (and it’s only Wednesday) my mind inevitably started wandering – between fits of rage and boredom – and I found myself contemplating why so many of us are happy to be subjected to this cruel torture almost every. Single. Day!?

Now, I hope you’re not reading this thinking “wow, talk about First World problems” – particularly in considering I’ve only actually been in full-time employment for 12 months and literally have a whole lifetime of it ahead of me (cry) – but I truly cannot comprehend why, in 2017, so many of us have to waste valuable time, money and energy every morning and afternoon on mind-numbing commutes, so that we can work the traditional 9-5 office hours.

I have a couple of friends that have the luxury of working for companies that offer flexible working hours, or ‘flexi-time’. This is – quite literally – my dream.  Being able to decide (within reason) when I start and finish work every day would be ideal. Not only would it advocate a better work/life balance but I’m also pretty sure that, if it was adopted nationwide, it would clear a lot of rush hour traffic problems up too.

Not only is rush hour traffic painful to endure, it does absolutely nothing for the environment, wastes fuels and ruins the efficiency of cars – all while making unwilling participants want to pull their hair out… or is that just me?

I understand it’s not a viable option for many industries/employers, but for those who are in an ideal position to introduce this, I can’t think of any reason why they wouldn’t want to? We are living in “The Digital Age” where so much can be done from the comfort of our homes or the local cafe. I know that there are always going to be the people who want to stick with the 9-5 for routine’s sake, but for those who don’t (which I can imagine is quite a few thousand), this might be a good way to reduce rush-hour frustrations and instead increase productivity.

Thoughts?