Working Nine-to-Five: Ideal or Outdated?

by SodaHead Living Posted 2011/12/26 14:00:00

Related Topics: Work, Employees, Nine To Five, Flexible, Facebook, Salary, Trend, Technology, Kids, Media, Boss, Social Media

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	Ideal	78 votes	32%
	Outdated	165 votes	68%

Working nine to five ... what a way to make a living? Or a lame, outdated concept? New evidence shows that workplace flexibility is on the rise, thanks to employees keeping odd hours, telecommuting and other changes, Time magazine reports.

A recent Vodafone UK survey illustrates that 90 percent of employers enable work flexibility instead of sticking to traditional hours, Time reports. And companies like Ernst & Young, Aflac and MITRE are letting employees work wherever and whenever they want.

"This notion of an eight-hour day is rapidly disappearing simply because we work so virtually and globally," Maryella Gockel, Ernst & Young's flexibility strategy leader, told Time.

The trend especially applies to younger employees. Cisco's "Connected World Technology Report" shows that more than half of Gen-Y employees value social media freedom -- as in the ability to use Facebook during the day -- over a higher salary (we have to admit, we find this kind of surprising). And more than one-third (37 percent) of Gen-Y workers would take a pay cut in order to have more flexibility on the job, according to a study by Mom Corps.

Flexibility is also great for parents -- moms and dads -- who want to (and usually need to) work but don't want to miss their kids' important milestones. In other words, the 9-5 shift seems seriously endangered. Is this a good thing?

+19

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Watermusicranger 2011/12/26 17:01:10

Outdated

+5
I haven't worked 9 to 5 ever in 37 years.
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Koma 2012/05/30 06:48:02

Outdated

There are other options available being the last 15 years of internet and online marketing has afforded us multiple options.
Sell what you know and know what you sell, it works well if you know what to sell.

Freedom comes from marketing your own ideas that unleash you from the enslaving bonds of a time clock and the master that rules over you.

You are truly free when you are your own master and answer to no other on earth.
There's no going back once you have a taste of that freedom, you will do everything in your power to retain it.
True freedom offers a higher level of creativeness that becomes perpetual.

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Grape :) 2011/12/30 17:26:56

Outdated

8 hours of work is fine for me, that time frame just sucks. :)

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NakedinVegas 2011/12/30 15:54:05

Outdated

Very outdated. I would love to have a schedule where I worked about 6 hours a day. The los of pay would be a factor though. However, 30 to 35 hours a week may not sound like a lot, but when you can spend that extra time with your family and friends, it's definitely a plus. And then there's another thing to consider. Fewer work hours, means more time for shopping etc.

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katt 2011/12/30 10:34:39

Outdated

i am not a morning person and being tied to a daily ritual of going to work at a set time and getting off of work at set time would be too monotonous and drive me crazy real fast and leave me bored.

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Raye 2011/12/29 21:52:44

Outdated

+1
I don't see the "9 to 5" workplace as a cultural institution. Our world is changing rapidly because of the internet, for good or bad. As long as money is still being made and then returned to the economy as a means of stimulation, that's all that really matters. Everything else is part of the personal freedom that we enjoy.

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shygurl 2011/12/29 17:55:12

Ideal

just 8 hours id like it if i get good pay

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Pat 2011/12/28 23:45:47

Ideal

I think it's ideal but not the reality in today's world. I know that when I was working and my children were in daycare, I was really tied into a 9 to 5 schedule and I think it hurt my prospects at work. Luckily my husband helped so I was able to work around some things but it's difficult. I think we should be a 9 to 5 work world. It's better for families and quality of life. I think we spend way too much time running like chickens with their heads cut off and too little time with our children and pursuing our own interests, Makes for a dull life.

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Black Night 2011/12/28 11:25:11

Outdated

I'm a full time student, that doesn't work well for me. I'd love to work from say 4 to 10 on week days, and noon til midnight on weekends.

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Inquisitve Kat 2011/12/28 00:03:47

Ideal

+2
We live for work now... work ethic is important, but we have lost our balance. Life outside of work is important too and it can be pretty hard to maintain a relationship or a family if schedules cannot be coordinated.
I like flexibility and with good comes bad, but working hours are insane now. How often do you get to see your close friends? Seriously... how many of us actually have time off at the same time as our other friends or our family? Our personal lives and our work lives have become dangerously intertwined.

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El Prez 2011/12/27 22:08:18

Outdated

Work should be done as it is needed and not on some prearranged schedule. Many people work better on their own and on their own clock. Results are the measure, not showing up on time, drinking coffee and gossiping.

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Raye to El Prez 2011/12/29 21:55:31

You bring up a really interesting point. There is a lot of downtime where I work, and I often find myself being paid to, as you say, drink coffee and gossip. My coworkers and I have often commented that it would make much more sense to have a flexible scheduling.

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El Prez to Raye 2011/12/30 05:51:17

+1
It would appear that the flex and home working is the future. I don't believe it is always the best but for those with the self disapl,ine to handle it, it is great. Some things need more discipline and probably should be handled from a central office. I'm retired now and oly work as a consultant, which is flexable and from home. When I ran a company I had a traditional office, so I am familiar with both. I like the flex better but it takes self discipline.

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Wyveryx 2011/12/27 22:07:34

Ideal

Personally I find it ideal. That way I can plan my weeks ahead. I have to take care of family and knowing my schedule is steady allows me to make appointments. Also, there is nothing more painful that working an 11-7 shift, because it really does take all of your day. You may think, well if you get up you can get things done. Problem is that most places don't open till 9 or 10 so realistically you only have 1 maybe two hours and that just isn't enough time.

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bonehead15329 2011/12/27 22:06:18

Outdated

I'm a software engineer and most of the jobs I've had over the past three decades have allowed and even encouraged flexible hours. But at my present job I am required to work from 8 AM to 5 PM or later, and it looks like it will stay that way at least until our general manager retires.

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Lerro DeHazel 2011/12/27 22:00:47

Outdated

I could never start that late and finish that late, when I have to depend on Public Transportation in a Sanctuary City.

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Koma to Lerro D... 2012/05/30 07:02:40

+1
Why do live in a Sanctuary City and why do you depend on Public Transportation?
That is not freedom.

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Lerro D... to Koma 2012/05/30 15:07:55

Aha! . . . You are so correct on that. In fact, there's name for THAT . . . It's called "Socialist Reform" Please read the words of Dr. Carl Mumpower, as I share with you . . . "Following World War II, Europe and the U.S. grew at an annual rate of about 3 percent. Not too far from today's rate. The difference was that Europe invested much of that growth in social entitlements. The U.S. let people keep their money in their own pockets. By the seventies, Europe's socialist dedications stopped their growth rate in its tracks and eventually created a 40 percent income gap between their people and ours. That's precisely the model Obama and company are duplicating here - and they're succeeding. Promises of something for nothing like union retirement bail-outs, student loan passes, ObamaCare, and other social-welfare commitments are making us like Europe. Our young should take note of peer unemployment rates of 50 percent in Spain and 36 percent in Italy. Europe reveals that liberal promises of something for nothing are right about just one thing - nothing."

Thank you for understanding that we don't have to put up with THAT.

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Max7 2011/12/27 21:44:19

Ideal

+1
Working from nine to five is something that a lot of people long for, the only reason that it is out dated is because the GOP has put a lot of people in the position of longing to have that 9-5 gig in their lives.

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Inquisi... to Max7 2011/12/28 00:06:11

What do politicians have to do with that one? That's more of a corporate issue. I know the two are often found in the same bed, but not in this case.

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Max7 to Inquisi... 2011/12/28 02:56:26 (edited)

+2
Everything, we are faced with many people being unemployed because of the actions of the Bush and Cheney administration; and some of those people would give their eyetooth to have a 9-5 J-O-B! In other words now adays people will take what they can get!

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Inquisi... to Max7 2011/12/28 04:27:06

I do agree with you, but politicians are pressured by corporations... and it's not so easy to say no, lest the corporation decide to punish the politician by withholding a much needed product or service. We need a complete overhaul... so although I don't blame it solely on politicians, I do now acknowledge that politicians are certainly not helping the problem.

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Max7 to Inquisi... 2011/12/29 05:17:47

+1
I know that you'll probably disagree with me, but Dick Cheney and George Bush put working America into the status of being unemployed. Which is why people can't afford to be choicy now-a-days, whereas before they messed up the economy people had a choice of the type of jobs that they obtained, now it's hook or crook. Unfortunately, things were not going to be straightened out over night, it's going to take time, and it's going to take more than four years. It took them eight years to mess things up, so maybe eight years will do the trick.

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Inquisi... to Max7 2011/12/29 06:11:00

Actually, I agree with you completely. Bush-Cheney government completely crippled America's economy

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Max7 to Inquisi... 2011/12/29 06:15:51

Wow, I wasn't expecting you to be in agreement with me, but it makes me think that great minds think alike.

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Inquisi... to Max7 2011/12/29 06:44:09

:-) The only reason I didn't entirely blame politicians is that some truly do try to help and improve things. It just sucks that the corrupt ones seem to succeed when it comes to gaining control.

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Max7 to Inquisi... 2011/12/29 17:58:35

+1
and I totally agree with you, I have often said that I firmly believe that wiithin the GOP administration, all of them cannot be bad people, or people who make selfish choices. Even when McCain pulled Sarah Palin to run against Hilary and Obama, I couldn't understand that to save my soul. I believe that the Republican party have some very sharp, political minded women within the senate and the congress, why they settled for Sarah is a mind blower to me. The front runners for the Republican party got too caught up in the tea party, and people like Newt Gingrich is too hung up in himself and not the hurting people of America, it is my utmost prayer that God will be our ultimate help in the upcoming election.

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Koma to Inquisi... 2012/05/30 07:11:17

It's time to stop blaming Bush and others for your own failures and take responsibility for your own actions.

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Inquisi... to Koma 2012/05/30 20:38:17

Uhh... clearly you didn't read any of what I wrote... or is that just a nice copy and paste that you send to everyone with whom you disagree?

So, I assume you don't blame Obama for any of the economy's problems, right?

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Koma to Max7 2012/05/30 07:11:06

It's time to stop blaming Bush and others for your own failures and take responsibility for your own actions.

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Max7 to Koma 2012/06/01 05:35:17

My failures? Bush and Cheney as simple as that will go down in history as messing up our country, there is no getting around it. I have been blessed in spite of Bush.

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Koma to Max7 2012/05/30 07:06:57

BLAME BUSH! BLAME BUSH! RACE CARD! BLAME BUSH!

It's time to take responsibility and stop blaming others for your own failures.

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Inquisi... to Koma 2012/05/30 20:39:17

Race card? Where?

Let me guess... you're one of those people who just skims posts for key words...

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Max7 to Koma 2012/06/01 05:38:52

Like I said, failures, I've paid my debt to society and praise God I can now reap the benefits from doing so. I've always been a person of means and responsibilities, you however, refuse to face facts, Bush was a trip, a trip that will not be forgotten for a long, long time. Racism is a live and well, however, who used the race card? It must be in your head.

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Pineal Gland Aware 2011/12/27 21:43:38

Outdated

its better than third shift, id like to see any of these people complaning about 9-5 work third shift for over a year, its depressing
be happy u have a "first" shift job =P

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knowerseeker 2011/12/27 21:27:48

Outdated

+1
Of course, it depends upon what kind of job you have. I'm a software developer, so to me 9:00 to 5:00 is outdated. (I happen to work from 7:00 to 4:00, with an hour lunch break, during which I take a nap in my car.... [It rests my eyes and brain so that I can be rejuvenated to work as well in the afternoon as I do in the morning.] I wouldn't want to telecommute, because my wife can't restrain herself to leave me in peace to do my work if I worked from home.) However, if you work a service job, then 9:00 (probably 8:00, actually) to 5:00 is necessary, because that's when customers expect your business to be open.

Another comment I have is that single people without kids are probably more inclined to care about the "perks" of a job (like allowing social media or very flexible work hours) than the pay, while if you have kids (and possibly a stay-home mommy) to provide for, you'll give up your freedom for the pay.

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Jake Bl... to knowers... 2012/01/03 10:00:32

If a REAL PROGRAMMER is there at 9am, it's because he is there from the night before...

http://www.guidenet.net/resou...

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thalice 2011/12/27 21:00:10

Ideal

Idk

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Reach130 2011/12/27 20:10:15

Outdated

I don't even know what you mean by this question, but my mother works from 6am to 6pm...

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Koma to Reach130 2012/05/30 07:14:47

You'll know soon enough and regret it if you're lucky to have a job.

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teachaman 2011/12/27 19:57:40

Outdated

trouble is, my job remains within these parameters

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