08 Aug A year at 30 hours, what has changed in our working hours (and beyond)?

For about a year now, we have changed our working hours from 40 to 30 hours per week, and we have no reason to go back.

Why did we reduce our working hours?

We have always been attentive* to productivity studies and new methods of work organization. This is why we have not missed all the publications that disprove a direct correlation between number of hours worked and quality (but also quantity) of work performed.

In addition to this, we have shifted to task-based management of our work, which is therefore untethered from the work schedule itself, but leaves each* of us to organize our own activities according to the final deadline.

This, in addition to flexible smart working, effectively creates for each* individual job management.

What has changed

• • • Working hours: We went from 8:30-18 to 9-17, with very good flexibility both in and out. Included within the day are two breaks (at 10:30 am and 3:30 pm) and a lunch break from 12:30 pm to 2 pm.
    • Total concentration: By dividing our work into fewer hours, and with breaks, the focus during the day reaches higher levels.
    • The quality of the work: Directly related to the previous point, we noticed a higher quality of our work. This factor is directly related to increased concentration but also to the next point.
    • Improved quality of life: Less hours in the office equals more hours available for private life. This can materialize as much in a parenthesis of personal enrichment as it does care for one’s own well-being.
    • Home-work commute times: By avoiding the times most commonly associated with school transportation, we noticed how the time spent driving to the office was drastically shortened.
    • Personal satisfaction: By being able to independently manage their own tasks within the day, it increases each person*s responsibility for their own area. This autonomy and confidence become an engine of personal gratification.
    • The number of customers: thanks to the previous advantages, in the past year we have been able to handle more clients with the same amount of hours (we introduced them to you here). Therein lies the concept of efficiency.

What hasn’t changed

• • • • • Salary.

Rational Feelings for more than a year has adopted a working method based more on the actual work needs of individuals than of indiscriminate presence in the office. For us, this change has proved positive, and we have no reason to take any steps backward.