Chapter 25

What does the notion of 9-to-5 mean in a world post COVID-19? Before the pandemic, our work day was already starting to shift. What is it going to mean when we eventually head back to the office full-time? 

In my opinion, being available for your clients from 9-to-5 is something expected of us all, but I believe it still isn’t a large enough window to serve your clients. To be honest, I think 9-to-5 is a bit pedestrian given how human beings work and when considering our most productive times of day. 

For me, anyone serving clients either in a retail setting or from a customer service standpoint needs to have their staff around and ready to serve clients. As our clients span more time zones and even more countries, customer service is quickly becoming a 24/7 mentality composed of several shifts designed to maximize client service and coverage. This transformation is only sped up with the current technology and devices at our disposal. Be it a text, email, or phone call, we can be accessible at any time of the day and we get to structure our work day how we want. 

Our clients are more spread out, technology keeps us available at any time of the day, so I have to ask: what’s the need for 9-to-5? At iFrog Marketing Solutions, we have noticed consumers like to control the shopping experience. Isn’t it possible this control transcends into their jobs, as well? We’ve also noticed that once we expanded beyond the 9-to-5 mentality, our productivity increased. We are getting much more done at a faster pace while still allowing our employees to have work-life balance. We can’t be alone in noticing this change. 

The Pirates are modern office workers making it work at all hours of the day. Some folks are more productive at night while others get up and grind in the early morning. The 8-hour workday five days a week makes sense for physical labor and manufacturing. For those working in the office, nearly all tasks involve creative or strategic thinking. The key is for each individual to understand when they have the most energy and are the most productive. 

Another reason the 9-to-5 mentality is declining is due to the needs and preferences of today’s workforce. Until recently, most workers based their employment offers on three factors: salary, benefits, and commute. I’ve noticed the general workforce is basing their employment on multitudes of other factors including: flexibility, company reputation, and potential for personal impact and growth. Today’s workforce increasingly requires an aspect of personal fulfillment from their jobs, and employees will go somewhere else if they can’t find it at your firm. 

Now that we’ve observed the workforce changing in how they structure their day as well as their priorities when taking new employment, how can employers shift to better fit these needs? Employers need to embrace the changing workplace! Increase the freelancers, allow for more crowdsourcing, and give employees flexible hours. This way, companies can create a workplace where taking on different roles and responsibilities fulfill different aspects of an individual’s career requirements. And really, let’s be honest, the priorities of today’s workforce are not radically different from those of an earlier generation — I think we can safely assume people have always wanted to make a career and make an impact. People are realizing the goals of having a successful and fulfilling life AND a great career are not mutually exclusive, and they’re asking their employers to help them meet those goals. 

As the 9-to-5 environment fades into the past and as technology and remote work become more predominant, the basic premise in both of these situations is people. If it isn’t obvious by now, I believe 9-to-5 is no longer pertinent to today’s modern office. I want my team at iFrog to think about servicing our clients before or when they have a need for us, not just during a particular window. Because of this, I ensure my team has great flexibility. This is a “new service level”. I am asking them to go beyond 9-to-5 and I am much more focused on results rather than the hours they are working. 

At iFrog, we put the needs of people first. Our clients get world-class service extending well beyond 9-to-5, sometimes much closer to 24/7. Our employees all have a clear sense of our vision and their work contributes to our mission. I encourage them to work with our roadmap in mind and how they fit into the iFrog mission. I don’t want the team thinking about managing hours, I want them focused on business outcomes and results. 

We have to be honest, this isn’t the 1970s anymore — and quite frankly, some of our employees weren’t even born during that time! It’s important for us to adapt and advance and not manage our people with an outdated paradigm for success. We need to put people first and we need to understand what people want and need — and we need to listen to them. The best technology in the world is meaningless without the people, both clients AND staff. 

At iFrog, we focus on people. Doing what is best for our employees and our clients to create a client-focused organization thinking about business outcomes, not time sheets. Our pirates define success based on their service to others and I do the same. 

Have a great day, be a productive human, and let’s chat about the death of the 9-to-5! Drop me a line anytime at kt@ifrog.com or tweet me @iFrogCEO! 

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