Full Time = Dinosaurs?

Are practices like 40 hours/week, a 9-5 work schedule, and permanent employment heading toward extinction? So I had a conversation with one of my peers the other day, and although I had similar talks in the past, I felt it worth writing about this particular event.

She currently works in a C-level position at a startup. She called and said:

“Hmm, my boss called me and was excited to share the news that we could all go back to working full-time.”

At that time, the company had reverted to reduced working hours, given the extensive impact of the pandemic. After working from home part-time for a couple of months, she had already gotten used to it. She then continued: “Dom, what if I don’t want to go back? How the hell do I tell my boss that I don’t want to go back full-time?”

Initially, I was surprised to hear this. Most people choose to work at startups because you can get a different experience you do not get in other organizations. Enthusiasm, passion, hope, and the fast-paced and diverse nature of work are all traits that are synonymous with startups.

This begs the question: Why don’t people want to come back?

This brings us to the next two questions:

• What can we do to make people want to come back?
• What can we do to have people excited, and eager for an email, call, text, or Slack?

You know the kind of excitement I am talking about. The same people get when they camp outside or queue in line to see the latest Star Wars or to buy the new iPhone. What should we as an organization and business do to ensure that our employees and customers are also queuing outside?

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