Fewer Hours, More Work: The 8-Hour Work System

by Imran Bacchus

Working eight hours a day, from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm is an energy killer. Many workers dread going to work. Much more, some are not productive for most of these hours. During an eight-hour shift, workers have a meal, take frequent breaks, loiter, gaff and then bustle to get a task done. This makes us wonder: “Is an eight-hour work day worth it?”.

The eight-hour work system is killing our generation. I have seen that people can be more productive working fewer hours than when they work longer hours, during which they accomplish very little. Some employees drag through the day while others spend hours on one task just so they can end the day having completed something or feeling fulfilled. What if eight hours were reduced to five hours? Would people be more excited to go to work? I believe so, as they will have less time to get their tasks done and then have the rest of the day to do things that they love. Hence, more work in less time while having more time for themselves and family. Look at us, our parents were workaholics and we are worse, as we have found additional things to do with our time.

Do we have enough time in the day? Our generation is struggling to maintain relationships, healthy bodies, excellent grades, and a solid bank account while working for eight hours at the same time. No wonder we are depressed. The eight-hour work cycle is sinking us. Our mental health is crashing from the stress at work. For many professionals, work even follows us home and takes up even more of our lives with little left for us to breathe.

Should we reevaluate our objectives and KPIs in the workplace? Are we really working smartly? The majority of working individuals struggle to keep a balance with work and the other parts of their lives. We have become robots programmed to work and earn a salary while we decay on the inside. Could a change in the eight-hour work system be the transformation that our workplaces need for greater efficiency? The eight-hour system may have worked in times past, but could it be that it no longer suits our generation or the future ahead of us?

How many of us can truly say that we spend the eight hours fully occupied with work? No doubt some of us are swamped with assignments and piles of files at our desks. But do you think that with fewer hours you would be able to get those tasks completed with more focus and agility? Now think about if you had more time outside of work, what would you do? How would you spend this precious time? You could now get home to have more quality time with your children, work on your business, get the groceries early from the supermarket, attend that dancing session or book club that you badly wanted to join, or spend more time on your university project, participate in a volunteer network, and the list goes on.

Fewer hours at work to meet deadlines could eliminate procrastination and laziness and increase productivity. Our modern jobs cannot function with an orthodox time sheet.