Why People Should Work 9-5 (2024)

For decades, normal working hours have been 9-5.

Why do today’s employees feel they have to change that in the name of flexibility? You want flexibility? Go to a yoga class, I’m paying people to work!

Recently, more companies have started moving to flexible work arrangements where employees choose their schedules and make their own hours. Some companies even claim to focus more on results than schedules and say it doesn’t matter when employees work.

But if you want your company to grow and succeed, every employee needs to be in their office every day from 9-5--no exceptions. In fact employees who just work 9-5 are lucky, my hours are more like 6am-10pm and you don’t hear me complaining.

Some people complain about having to work structured hours, but it’s actually an improvement! Henry Ford started the concept of 9-5 working hours in 1926 for his assembly line workers. Before that schedule, employees were working much longer hours. The 9-5 arrangement ensured employees were all there and engaged during business hours, and it made people more productive because they worked together efficiently. And the idea was a success! There’s a reason Henry Ford is considered one of the greatest business minds of all time and why companies have followed the 9-5 schedule for nearly 100 years--it works!

Everyone needs to work the same hours so you know where people are and are sure they’re getting their work done. If you call someone with a question at 3 pm and they don’t answer, how do you know if they are slacking and need to be fired or if they just have a weird schedule? It gets confusing tracking everyone’s individual schedules, and that’s not how a leader should spend their time. Knowing when your employees are working shouldn’t require a complex calendar!

Working the predictable 9-5 keeps everyone on the same page. It’s easier to schedule meetings and ensure teams are actually working together because you don’t have to juggle many different schedules. It also keeps all employees equal and accounted for so that no one tries to cut out early and steal time from the company. People can’t claim “overtime” when they are unfocused and take longer to complete a task. Everyone works 9-5, and it’s the employee’s fault if they can’t finish their work in that time!

When everyone works the same schedule, things happen more quickly and tasks don’t fall through the cracks. I don’t want my business to slow and sales opportunities to drop because some employees think they’re too good to work 9-5 like everyone else.

Plus, when employees work whatever hours they want, they may ask you questions at all hours of the day and night. That’s not ok! You need time to yourself to do what matters to you and not be interrupted by employees.

Forget this wild notion of flexible schedules--everyone needs to work from 9-5, no questions asked.

-The Outdated Leader

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Over the last 15 years, I’ve had the privilege of speaking and working with some of the world's top leaders.Here are 15 of the best leadership lessonsthat I learned from the CEOs of organizations like Netflix, Honeywell, Volvo, Best Buy, The Home Depot, and others. I hope they inspire you and give you things you can try in your work and life.Get the PDF here.