Flat World

I know that The World Is Flat is somewhat outdated having been replaced by Hot, Flat and Crowded, but the world really is changing because of technology.

My job in the past has been to travel monthly for one week and then support teachers and principals remotely from my living room. I get up at 5 am (give or take an hour after Twilight early screenings) and I work online, checking email, creating resources for schools, and brainstorming with people who live in other cities across the country. Now I am doing more and more online work people from my living room rather than traveling, which leads me to my most recent conclusion:

The demise of the 9-5 work day. My evidence:

• This week I skyped with someone in India at 7 pm PST (11 am in India) about what was going on at his school in North Carolina.
  
• I had one-on-one conferences with teachers during their prep time in Durham, NC using Adobe Connect at 5:00 AM PST
  
• Two teachers from Albany, NY called me via skype at 2 pm EST to review their daily calendar to help tighten up their approaches and make their curriculum more cohesive for their students.

So rather than needing to be "in the office" at set hours, I was available at various times for those who are in need of my services. These are people who previously could only discuss their school issues with me 5-7 days a year in person. Email takes a long time and the phone isn't as ideal, plus long distance costs for teachers, phone reception in antiquated/asbestosy buildings, etc. (Asbestos does not affect phone signals)

The 9-5 workday is really a product of the 20th century, right? If you think about it, it goes along with the whole idea of efficiency per minute, right? We need to have every second accounted for--we get paid by the hour, we take breaks and are paid for every second we work after 40 hours a week. Anyone seen the original of Cheaper by the Dozen? The father has a stop watch and his job is to actually go to factories and help them be more efficient by making fewer movements, etc. He even writes a book on efficiency.

The 21st century has other options.

The Japanese were famous for efficiency in the 80s--anyone seen Gung Ho? I loved Michael Keaton in those days-- Night Shift, Mr. Mom, etc. So did everyone know that the Japanese never quite recovered from their major recession of the 90s. Why not? Efficiency stifles creativity. If we want people to be creative, they ought to be encouraged to work at hours that are best for them. If I can get up at 5 am and be focused and creative, my employer ought to encourage me to work at that time. I had a co-worker who was terrible in the mornings-- late and out of it until 4-5 cups of joe. But what if she and the millions of teenagers whose bodies operate on a later clock could work in the evening? What kind of new inventions would spring out of that think tank?

The problem is that in the meantime, people are trying to do both. Like "be innovative with your schedule, save money by telecommuting on a schedule that works best for you" yet HR might ask employees why they were leaving at 3 pm (seriously, no wonder Michael Scott hated Toby so much.)

I predict that the end of this will come soon but we have to be patient with the Old School/Original Gangstas just a little longer while they work out their issues.

I think it is coming--it has already happened to me. Are you ready?