Is it time for American businesses to rethink how they define “normal” business hours? According to a new survey from CareerBuilder, the majority of U.S. workers (59 percent) say the traditional 9-to-5 work day is a thing of the past.
Thanks to technology that enables employees to check in from anywhere – at any time – the work day has become much more fluid for many. Nearly half of American workers (49 percent) finish their day’s work outside of normal office hours, according to the survey, and almost the same proportion (45 percent) continue to check work emails once they’ve left the office.
What Does This Mean For You?
There’s a fine line between having the ability to check in at all hours and feeling unable to disconnect from the office. The constant connection to work may make employees feel implicit pressure to always be “on call,” which can impinge on their work/life balance and cause undue stress. Make sure your employees know that, while they may sometimes be expected to be available outside of traditional business hours, they are entitled to their time off and encourage them to “unplug” every once in a while.
