"I don't like that their commitment lasts for work hours only," the misguided CEO said.
On advice website Quora, a CEO asked how to get his employees to dedicate their off-duty hours to work.
He said:
“I have two employees that usually work leave work at 6pm. They are good, but I don’t like that their commitment lasts for work hours only. What should I do as a CEO?”
Quora’s respondents were unimpressed and reminding the CEO of the importance of a good work/life balance and how it affects your job.
“They owe you honest work for their work hour. You’re almost certainly not paying them equity in your company, but even if you are: When work hours are over, they may owe their families, themselves, their pets, or even a second job. What they don’t owe, is you,” commented a user called Chris McClinch.
“I love my job. Seriously, I enjoy the people I work with and the problems I solve. I love the challenges, the growth, and my team. I’ve evangelised the product and recruited enthusiastically,” Chris said.
He then said that despite his love for his job, the instant the work day is over, he flips a switch and goes into “husband and father mode.” “When my daughter’s in bed, I flip another switch, head down to my gym, and fo into athlete mode. When my workout is over, I flip another switch and go into personal development mode. I might work on a coding project, practice guitar, read for pleasure, or watch baseball or basketball, depending on the season.”
He claims these things make him better at his job, “and the fact that my job doesn’t hassle me about it makes me a much more loyal, much more dedicated employee.”
Another user, Paul LaRue also replied to the CEO’s inquiry, saying that the days of employers expecting their employees to work long hours are changing in the employees favor.
“One thing the Millennials generation has done, is thrust work-life balance into the forefront. Working 60-90 hour weeks and 12+ hour days does not give them satisfaction in life, and Gen Xers and iGen are feeling the same way,” he said. “That does not mean employees don’t want to work long days, but when it becomes the norm, they have a higher degree of disengagement and propensity to leave a company for a better work-life balance.”
He added:
“They would rather work for a company culture that allows them to be well rounded individuals and enjoy their life.”
He went on to give the CEO his final piece of advice, saying that he looks at himself and why he expects this from his employees. “It is more a reflection of who you are as a boss than who they are as employees.”
Other users also commented on this:
“A woman I knew quit because she was hired for a seven-hour-a-day job and was asked to work 12, and everyone ‘defended’ the employer, due to the economy crisis.”
“At an old job, I was given a written warning for not answering my phone on my day off. It was at that stage that I started looking for a new job.”
One user pointed out that this was why employees sign contracts. “If it’s not in the Employee-contract, it is NOT YOUR PROBLEM.”
“If you want more ‘commitment’ you should do what I did with my employees - I made them MORE than employees… I made them owners,” a user called Tom Kubin said. “When an employee is also part of the company - he stops thinking of it as a “job” but more of “his company”, even if it’s a 0.1 percent of the company, it’s still something when the company is worth billions… so it’s great motivation.”
