Work Notes
Some companies like the
'Firm 40' workweek
At exactly 6 p.m., employees are leaving the building. By 6:05, the parking lot is almost empty.
The company involved is among a group of small firms (1,350 workers in this case), who are trying the 40-hour workweek.
Leaders say the program makes employees more efficient by forcing them to focus on work only while they are in the office and unplugging when they leave. They take no breaks for personal email or online shopping.
The program easily attracts new employees, some of whom are willing to take a pay cut in exchange for limited hours.
The defined workday has become rare for many American workers as the line between work and home becomes blurred with workers still tapping away on their laptops late into the night.
At some organizations, work-life integration policies are helping.