Is it time to call time on the Nine to Five?

“Working nine to five, what a way to make a living!”

It’s clear that Dolly Parton wasn’t a fan but is it time that we all questioned the validity of  the standard accounting office working day? Does it even exist anymore  and, if it does, is it relevant to today’s business models and needs?

The nine to five working week was most noticeably introduced by Henry Ford in the 1920s when he reduced the Ford Motor Company’s weekly shift from six days down to five without any reduction in workers’ pay. When you think about it, it’s astonishing, given the level of technological and social change, that it’s taken a century and a pandemic before serious conversations have moved towards the next steps in reducing workloads.

In the UK, the focus has traditionally been on the eight hour day rather than the weekly commitment and it is the historical wranglings between employers and trade unions that has lead us to our common nine to five.

Take a look at any accounting forum and you’ll see our profession’s approach to the nine to five. It’s fair to say that, for many employers, it is deemed the bare minimum work commitment with additional hours common, often expected, and, equally often, unpaid. There is a whole separate discussion to be had on this issue alone (Watch this space!) but it seems to me that too many firms depend on unpaid overtime for their business model and that being salaried has become an excuse for this practice.

Nine to five may be a phrase but it isn’t the reality for many in our profession.

Nine to five comes from a time when:-

·     The office was central to communication and information. All the records were there and all the post and phone calls went there

·     Working from home was impractical since all the resources, supplies and equipment were in the office and not mobile

·     All businesses were on the same clock with clients working similar hours

·     International business was unlikely for most firms and so international time differences were never an issue

·     The demarcation was clearer between work and home life. People ‘clocked off’ at five to go home and have dinner (or tea if you, like me, are north of Watford!) with their family

·     The pace of work was slower. Compliance deadlines were less rigid and there was just more time to get stuff done

The 1980’s blew this world away with greater emphasis in the financial and banking world on money, careers and prioritising work over everything. Technology has further disrupted off the back of this decade, creating a smaller world, instant communication and facilitating a work anywhere, anytime culture.

We can’t unscramble what has happened but we can decide that nine to five is no longer fit for purpose.

Fortunately, (and I genuinely mean, fortunately) Millennials and, even more so, GenZ, have called us out on the whole unpaid work, prioritising careers thing. It may have worked for older generations but it’s hard to argue with someone that “this is not the contract that you and I signed”.

A generational change of attitude is to be welcomed and applauded (although I don’t expect everyone to agree). The pandemic has then added to this by pressing employers at look at more flexible work and delivery patterns and recognising that things can be done differently. Organisations now have options away from that traditional model to consider:

·     Working from home/anywhere

·     Flexible working hours/arrangements

·     Four day weeks

·     Conversely, 24/7 operations, driven by automation

·     Adapting management cultures to reflect a better awareness of mental and physical wellbeing

·     Adapting client relationships and services for the same reasons

Our clients are now used, elsewhere in their lives, to accessing the help and information that they need on a 24/7 basis and, as their primary business advisors, we should work towards accommodating that. At the same time our teams, and we ourselves, deserve a more enjoyable and rewarding workplace and a better life outside of work.

The nine to five mentality and enforcement makes these ambitions harder. We need to be smarter about what works best for our people as well as our clients and we have the tools and thinking to turn this into a new reality.

It’s worth taking a new look at how you work.