Non-Traditional Work Situations Finally Catching On
from the it's-about-the-work,-not-the-hours dept
For many years, I've been a big believer in having companies that encourage employees to get work done, not on some metric that doesn't necessarily apply, such as "hours in the office." To that end, I've said repeatedly that things like personal surfing at work, taking naps at work, and having more flexibility in working hours and working spaces makes sense. I don't necessarily believe that non-traditional offices should be forced on workers, but for many it can make them more productive. It often allows workers to be more productive, by letting them recharge their batteries when needed, and not forcing them to work when it would be counter productive for them to do so, even if the hours suggest they should be working. It appears that others are coming around to this viewpoint as well. Flexible working arrangements are catching on, from telecommuting to job sharing to odd hours. Meanwhile, since so few companies encourage their employees to take naps when they're feeling tired, one company is setting up a storefront for naptakers. For $14 (which seems a bit pricey), you get a comfy chair or "pod" and a twenty minute power nap to get refreshed. Of course, someone will come up with examples of how these types of non-traditional work ideas are bound to be abused, but the good thing is that the successes and failures can be judged on the individual employee's performance. If they're getting their job done, who cares if they work at home, at odd hours or take naps occasionally?
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
20 minute naps
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Nap for free.
I used to head to a semi-abandoned parking lot by the airport, eat my lunch in the car, and nap there. Must have been anywhere from 10 to 50 cars there doing the same thing, watching planes take off or land and nap in between. I know, doesn't sound like a great place to nap, but then I never overslept there, either.
Quite some metaphor there, watching planes coming in and out while stuck in a corporate cube. Needless to say, I didn't last there very long - quit to start my own business after only 8 months at the job.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]