Reducing time at work for better balance with Joe O'Connor

Generation Squeeze's Hard Truths

Better balancing our time at work and our time at home has long been a centrepiece of our family policy solutions. So in this episode, Paul and Megan spoke with Joe O'Connor, a leader in the work-time reduction movement.

Joe O'Connor directs the ⁠Work Time Reduction Center of Excellence⁠ in Toronto. Previously Joe was CEO of ⁠4 Day Week Global⁠ where he led many successful work-week reduction projects around the world.

Highlights

"Lots of modern roles have been really completely overwhelmed with this fluff when it comes to overlong and unnecessary meetings, distraction and interruption in the work day, poor use of technology, outdated processes. And once you actually put in place a framework and an incentive structure… you find that actually getting five days worth of outcomes in four days at work is often much less of an impossible dream than you might have first believed," says Joe.

"If you can actually free up time -- not just for people to be able to do the things that really matter of outside of work, but actually to be able to hone in on the things that they know drive value, that they know are making a real contribution to their organization’s objectives while they're at work -- that's a double dividend. That's something that can boost people's life satisfaction in two ways."

Dig deeper

• Work Time Reduction Center of Excellence
• The Globe & Mail: Can I trade a higher retirement age for a four-day workweek?
• Policy changes for work-life balance
• Our policy solutions to support young families
• 4 Day Week Global