Happy “Leave the Office Earlier Day”!

Yes, you read that right.  “Leave the Office Earlier Day” is indeed today, and it’s actually included in Chase’s Calendar of Events as a holiday.  What does it mean?  “The idea isn’t really to duck out of work after lunch, of course; rather, it’s to stick to a sane and sensible eight-hour day, allowing you to devote the extra time to your friends, family, and fun.”

Instead of give you our take on this insanely idiotic day (woops – guess that was a taste of our take), we asked a few people that are in the midst of their ROWE migrations to share their thoughts.  Here they are:

Why do you think a day like “Leave the Office Earlier Day” needs to be created?

• “Because most employers do not truly allow their employees to create a work/life balance that works for their lives and fits with what they company feels is correct.”
• “To try to relieve the stress that employees feel and try to make them happier.”
• “Because employees are working more than eight hours a day, and are feeling stressed.”

Note the line in the article that says “The idea isn’t really to duck out of work after lunch, of course; rather, it’s to stick to a sane and sensible eight-hour day, allowing you to devote the extra time to your friends, family, and fun.”  What’s wrong with this picture?

• “So, am I supposed to go back to an insensible, insane work schedule after my one day of freedom?!”
• “There are so many things wrong with this line.  First, it is perceived that if you leave after lunch, you are leaving too early.  It’s promoting that you still need to work what the majority of people consider to be a normal day – 8 hours – but they’re making it appear that the company is being generous because you can now leave earlier than what the company considers to be the ‘normal’ workday of possibly 10 hours or more.  By saying you get to devote the extra time to certain things also shows that the company is saying ‘we own your time’ instead of owning your work results.”
• “They’ve created a ‘special day’ for employees to have a sane and sensible work environment?  Is one to conclude that the other 259 workdays are insane?”

How does ROWE differ from the mindset of this holiday?

• “ROWE differs from the mindset of this day because ROWE is a lifestyle, not something you fit in for one day or another.  ROWE allows you (the employee) to decide when and where you need to spend time working, having fun, being with friends and family…ROWE allows you to make the choices, not your employer!”
• “ROWE is a lifestyle that focuses on work results, not time.  ROWE is every day, not just one day.”
• “In a ROWE, employees always have more time to devote to friends, family, and fun because time is always in their control.”

What’s wrong with having a “day” like this vs. a lifestyle?

• “Your life does not always fit into one day.  To make a true difference in employees’ work/life balance, you need to make a lifestyle change instead of providing a Band-Aid.”
• “Having one day like this is not going to solve any type of work/life balance issues for employees.”
• “Having a day like this does not solve the underlying problem of employees not having control of their time.”

If you could tell the creator of this day one thing, what would it be?

• “Nice try!  But if you are trying to provide your employees with a chance at better work/life balance, your approach needs to change.  Your employees need to be able to choose what works for them to create this balance in their own lives instead of you telling the employees when and how it should work for them!”
• “Get real!  This one day is not going to solve work/life balance issues.  What about all the other workdays?”
• “Stop with the Band-Aids and do the surgery!  Leaving the office early on one day will improve employee morale for a day, but does nothing to address the underlying problems of the traditional work environment.”

Now for those of you on the East Coast, it’s probably okay for you to leave now…but you West Coasters, it’s still too early.  Give it another hour and then enjoy all of your extra time…for today.