Welcome to the No-Hour Work Week

What’s the Latest Development?

Mobile technology should be used to create a more humane work environment, says John Stein, founder of Betterment, a savings and investment start up. Although Stein’s employees take customer calls on the weekends and often work into the morning hours, they can come into the office at 8, 12, or not at all if they would prefer to work remotely. “It means they can work at the times they’re most productive, make family gatherings, attend to personal commitments, leave early for travel or yoga or drinks with friends.” Stein says the result is a happy, productive and creative team. 

What’s the Big Idea?

With the help of mobile technology, more people are working to live rather than living to work. In surveys, today’s employees are more likely to associate words like ‘love’ and ‘world’ with with finding a job than ‘money’ and ‘success’. And in an age when people carry their (open-planned) office in their pocket, it is essential to make rest and recuperation a priority as a means of recovering energy. “More energy means more creativity,” says Stein. “More creativity means better work. And that’s a good outcome for everyone, and the world.”

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