--- title: GoROWE — Breaking Free from the 9-5 Culture - Harvard Business Review description: According to a recent article in the Harvard Business Review, organizations are slowly beginning to realize that the 9-5 workday is outdated and counterproductive to the success of their employees. Businesses know they need to chart a new course, and the future of work rests just out on the hori image: https://www.gorowe.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Jul21_27_AnaPerezLopez.jpg --- [Skip to content](https://www.gorowe.com/rowe-blog/2021/8/3/breaking-free-from-the-9-5-culture-harvard-business-review#main-content) [![CRX Logo Outline Orange](https://www.gorowe.com/hubfs/CRX%20Logo%20Outline%20Orange.svg)](https://www.gorowe.com/) - [Services](https://www.gorowe.com/services/go-rowe) Show submenu for Services - [GoROWE](https://www.gorowe.com/services/go-rowe) - [ROWE Pilot](https://www.gorowe.com/services/rowe-pilot) - [Our Story](https://www.gorowe.com/culturerx-story) Show submenu for Our Story - [Our Story](https://www.gorowe.com/culturerx-story) - [Press](https://www.gorowe.com/rowe-blog/tag/press) - [Speaking](https://www.gorowe.com/speaking) - [Business Results](https://www.gorowe.com/rowe-business-results) Show submenu for Business Results - [Business Results](https://www.gorowe.com/rowe-business-results) - [Case Studies](https://www.gorowe.com/case-studies) - [HR Success Guide](https://www.gorowe.com/hr-and-rowe-guide-for-success) - [Not ROWE](https://www.gorowe.com/not-rowe) Show submenu for Not ROWE - [Organizational Challenges](https://www.gorowe.com/revolutionizing-work-culture) - [Blog](https://www.gorowe.com/rowe-blog) Open main navigation Close main navigation - [Services](https://www.gorowe.com/services/go-rowe) Show submenu for Services - [GoROWE](https://www.gorowe.com/services/go-rowe) - [ROWE Pilot](https://www.gorowe.com/services/rowe-pilot) - [Our Story](https://www.gorowe.com/culturerx-story) Show submenu for Our Story - [Our Story](https://www.gorowe.com/culturerx-story) - [Press](https://www.gorowe.com/rowe-blog/tag/press) - [Speaking](https://www.gorowe.com/speaking) - [Business Results](https://www.gorowe.com/rowe-business-results) Show submenu for Business Results - [Business Results](https://www.gorowe.com/rowe-business-results) - [Case Studies](https://www.gorowe.com/case-studies) - [HR Success Guide](https://www.gorowe.com/hr-and-rowe-guide-for-success) - [Not ROWE](https://www.gorowe.com/not-rowe) Show submenu for Not ROWE - [Organizational Challenges](https://www.gorowe.com/revolutionizing-work-culture) - [Blog](https://www.gorowe.com/rowe-blog) - [Contact us](https://www.gorowe.com/contact-culturerx) [Contact us](https://www.gorowe.com/contact-culturerx) ![](https://www.gorowe.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Jul21_27_AnaPerezLopez.jpg) August 12, 2021 # Breaking Free from the 9-5 Culture - Harvard Business Review According to a [recent article](https://hbr.org/2021/07/breaking-free-from-a-9-to-5-culture?mc_cid=355f4f29f8&mc_eid=UNIQID) in the Harvard Business Review, organizations are slowly beginning to realize that the 9-5 workday is outdated and counterproductive to the success of their employees. Businesses know they need to chart a new course, and the future of work rests just out on the horizon. But does anybody have a researched back tried and true roadmap to actually get there? Yes. We do. The article quotes research done at the University of Minnesota in partnership with the National Institutes of Health, as well as a client testimonial. > **The Researchers** > "In their book [*Overload*](https://www.amazon.com/Overload-Good-Jobs-Went-about/dp/0691179174/ref=sr_1_5?dchild=1&keywords=overload&qid=1624034997&s=books&sr=1-5&mc_cid=355f4f29f8&mc_eid=UNIQID), professors Erin Kelly and Phyllis Moen chronicle a [dual-agenda work redesign experiment](https://www.forbes.com/sites/rebeccazucker/2020/08/25/the-overload-antidote-how-to-engage-your-team-in-work-redesign/?sh=8e64df7589c6&mc_cid=355f4f29f8&mc_eid=UNIQID) called STAR (an acronym for Support. Transform. Achieve. Results.) with a division of an IT firm that they ran in collaboration with Jody Thompson and Cali Ressler from Culture Rx, who pioneered the Results Only Work Environment ([ROWE](https://www.gorowe.com/?mc_cid=355f4f29f8&mc_eid=UNIQID)). STAR was designed to benefit both the organization and the participating employees. Employees were given the freedom to determine how, where, and notably *when* they did their work. Within six months, they saw significant improvements in key outcomes such as reduced burnout, increased job satisfaction, and increased engagement and retention, with no negative impact on productivity." > > **Satisfied Client** > "Identifying clear goals and outcomes will allow employees working asynchronously to focus on the desired results versus when, where, or how the work is done. Ellen Taaffe, a leadership professor at Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management, was president of a boutique brand and product research development firm, now called Ravel, when she engaged CultureRx to help her firm transition to ROWE. She said, “It was a shift to go from ‘Here’s all the work to be done’ to ‘Here’s the outcomes we want.’ So, it became very outcomes-based, which is what helped us to deliver in a stronger way. In many companies, if you’re so busy doing the work without being as clear on the outcome we need, and how will our client use it — it really helped us to be very focused.” It's time. 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