There’s been a lot of talk about 4 day workweeks lately. There was a pilot in the UK, and the US, Ireland, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand are said to have pilots in the works. Not surprisingly, folks were almost unanimously in favor of continuing with the 4 day workweek.
Similarly, a friend of mine tells the story about a relative that moved to a Nordic country, and wanted to make a good impression. That relative was putting in overtime and staying late, to show how dedicated they were to the new role. After many months of that behavior, which is very typical in the US, the person’s manager asked if he was having a hard time getting his work done in 40 hours.
Other companies have instituted meeting-free days, so that folks actually have time to get work done during work hours.
What might happen if we all worked a little more kindly? I’m not advocating for all things to come to a screeching halt – those who know me know that I’m a fan of finding an achievable middle ground!
Working more kindly can mean taking the paid time off you accrued, and encouraging your team to do the same. It can mean giving yourself space between meetings or creating meeting free days for yourself and your team. It can mean having a voice conversation, when email/text conversations start to go awry.
What does kindness in work look like for you? If you could create any type of work environment, what would you create? Maybe not everything is doable, but you may just be surprised by the ideas that come when you ask yourself these questions.
Find your own achievable middle ground, and work more kindly.
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