Handheld, mobile, and wearable devices: These are convenient, portable pieces of technology that make any activity — be it exercise, play, or work — as simple as the push of a button.
But that very convenience worried French legislators enough that they drew up a bill to quell potential employee burnout. Myriam El Khomri’s proposed measure (aka the right to disconnect law), which went into effect at the beginning of the year, requires companies of 50 or fewer workers to give employees the right to unplug from technology after work hours.
As simple as this legislation sounds, it shows a stark contrast between how the rest of the world views work-life balance — especially how Americans see it. Stateside, technology makes us always available, always on, and perfectly willing to tend to professional responsibilities at the drop of a hat.
Overseas, though? Most people work to live, not the other way around. It’s an attitude I admire — one that inspired me to implement a five-hour workday at my company. And the idea began to formulate, innocently enough, during a post-graduate Australian excursion.
Lessons From a Far Away Land
As a reward for finishing up our degrees, my college friends and I planned a three-month backpacking trip through Australia. The idea was to get a big group of us to take the adventure together, but many didn’t want to commit for one reason or another.
Most of them felt beholden to the post-graduate to-do list foisted upon them by society, one that they had all the time in the world to complete. To me, three months seemed like plenty of time to reflect on the college experience, shirk off responsibility, and prepare my mind for the next step in life.
So imagine my surprise when casual acquaintances I encountered in Australia were in their sixth month of crisscrossing the globe. Many said to me, “Don’t Americans do this, too? Everybody in my country does this.”
The more relaxed work ethic of Aussies, Kiwis, and Europeans was a breath of fresh air. Job titles, salary, net worth, and all the other status symbols we hold in such esteem over here mean less over there. Abroad, working just enough to live well is all that matters.
As I entered the American workforce, I started to ask: Why are Americans so doggedly devoted to the concept of overworking ourselves?
U.S. laborers log an average of 47 hours a week and make $48,098 annually. For comparison’s sake, in 2013, Dutch workers averaged 29 hours a week and earned $47,000 each year, while Swiss employees tallied 35 hours each week and brought home an even $50,000. Extrapolate that out to a 47-hour week: Those countries are earning more than us for fewer hours.
That’s where the five-hour workday came in. It was a way to limit productivity to a window of 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. with no cuts in compensation, which forced some employees to find their own optimal workflow.
Some stateside might see it as working less or being lazy and inefficient. To me, though, it’s just an extension of what my time in Australia taught me: Emphasize quality of life instead of quantity of work.
Souvenirs for American Business Leaders
The five-hour workday didn’t appear out of nowhere. It’s a product of information picked up through years of international travel, as well as gaps I’ve seen in the delegation of duties in the American workforce.
Exploring, even implementing, workforce protocol from outside the U.S. provides a fresh perspective that can jumpstart growth, retention, and productivity. Here’s where to start:
1. Leave something on the table. Laws that cap the number of hours an employee can work each week exist in 134 countries — the U.S. is not one of them. One tenet behind the five-hour workday was that it represents a renegotiation that allows employees to get their just due from spikes in productivity.
Eight-hour days are indoctrinated standards that can be eschewed if employers are willing to give workers the go ahead to do so. Position the reduction in working hours as the same amount of output with smaller amounts of input.
We ran the five-hour workday as a companywide, three-month trial in the summer. Employees responded well to it, prompting us to implement it full time not long after its introduction.
2. Turn the ‘busy’ signal on. I ran a poker chip business once. And when I say I ran it, I mean I ran it. I shipped, I marketed, I answered phones, I did product development — all within the confines of a 40-hour week.
You know what I found? All of that could be condensed to 12 hours over five days if I just relented and put some responsibilities off. Leaders should never dissuade eager employees, but recognize when too many balls are in the air.
Learn to disconnect and show those you lead that it’s OK, too. If you show you’re not always on, more employees are likely to follow suit.
3. Remember what you’re working toward. When you’re not glued to a desk or a computer all day, you’ll have a richer life outside of work, too. Letting employees out at 1 p.m. gives them nearly the whole day to run errands, connect with loved ones, and just live life.
The early dismissal allowed me to coach my son’s baseball team, which I had never been able to do before. It was nice to see what I was working all those hours to support and great to spend extra time with him.
Jobs are a means to an end — a comfortable, fulfilling life. My time as a 20-something in Australia taught me that. Look elsewhere for inspirational ways to manage your workplace. You may be surprised what you find.
Stephan Aarstol is the author of the widely acclaimed book “The Five Hour Workday: Live Differently, Unlock Productivity, and Find Happiness,” garnering coverage from CNN, CNBC, “Fox & Friends,” The Huffington Post, and Forbes. His unique spin on the average workday earned him “World’s Best Boss” distinctions from multiple German newspapers and the title of “America’s Best Boss” by U.K.-based newspaper The Daily Mail. Stephan Aarstol is the CEO and founder of Tower, deemed one of Mark Cuban’s best “Shark Tank” investments.