Post-pandemic, we are still figuring out how we design our workplaces and workweeks to optimize organizational performance and employee happiness.

In my opinion, the most successful work models of the future will offer both flexibility and structure.

The founding father of the continuous quality improvement philosophy, W. Edwards Deming, wrote that 94% of issues in today’s workplaces are systemic, with only 6% attributable to individuals.

Those organizations that focus solely on discretionary benefits at an individual level, will likely engender an individualized behavioral response which focuses on the 6%.

That’s why, when we at Work Time Reduction work with organizations to help them adopt reduced-hour work models, we focus on the collective.

Offering a benefit that is equitable and universal, and using this as a collective incentive to drive structural, systemic change in how your teams and processes function, is the golden ticket to a more productive, efficient workforce.