I’ve been working for myself for a couple year sand got back into the “9-5” and the first thing that’s a shock is how inefficient the office environment is. This might not be the same for everyone, but it’s a trend I’ve queried with friends/families and it remains true. Operating on your own, your time is money… your efficiency is money. This lead time me to the realization that when you sign on to a job, most people don’t ask whether you’re hiring for YOUR TIME or for YOUR EXPERTISE.
There’s a big different: Your time is paid for regardless of whether there is work to do or not. I’ve always prioritized personal time and getting into a healthy routine with work/life balance. If the company pays for your time, they own you and they don’t care if you have nothing to do because it’s not about your ability to solve problems and optimize functions. It’s about control over your life from 9-5 Monday to Friday.
If you were paid for your expertise, you’d finish the work and do whatever you pleased with the remaining time and management would have no issues because they pay you to fix issues, create solutions and manage workflows. Once those core functions are met, the business functions of other departments take over.
The issue with the modern working setup is the lack of flexibility given the advancement in technology. We saw how working from home have a lot of freedom to persons and the flexibility to choose when to go into office. Places still holding on to these antiquated setups will forever be losing talent.