We’ve clung to the idea that longer hours mean higher dedication and productivity for far too long. As managers, we often inadvertently rate the worth and competence of our team members by the number of hours they spend glued to their desks. However, this traditional metric has serious flaws that foster an unhealthy work environment and pollute the process of measuring real productivity and value.

The problem

While it’s important for team members to be committed and punctual, overemphasis on hours worked can lead to a perilous bias that can swiftly sidetrack the overall effectiveness, trust and dynamism of your team. When managers equate longer hours with commitment and dedication, it can lead to a culture of presenteeism—where team members feel obliged to spend excessive time at work, irrespective of their productivity.

Consequently, it can be easy to overlook the immense value brought by those who work fewer hours but contribute high-quality work, generate innovative solutions, or promote client satisfaction. Herein lies the crux of the bias; using only “hours worked” as a gauge fails to appreciate the diverse ways individuals can generate value and can stifle the creation of a balanced, fulfilling and productive work environment.

Why it’s a problem

This bias not only belittles the quality of work and unique efforts put forth by team members but also feeds into the escalating work-life imbalance. It promotes a culture of burnout and unnecessary competition, leading to declining mental health, team cohesion, and ultimately, lower productivity.

Importantly, longer hours do not automatically translate into more value or better results. Quality, as they say, trumps quantity every time. It’s not about how many hours your people stay at their desks, but what they achieve within their working timeframe.

Shifting focus

As we strive for better, more balanced workplaces, we need to manage this bias and promote a new paradigm focused on the value created, the results generated, and the contributions made to be as, if not more, important as hours worked or billed.

As managers, let’s encourage our team members to work smarter, not longer. This means focusing on effectiveness over endurance and valuing the output as much as hours clocked. Did they solve a long-outstanding problem? Did they produce a high-quality product within the timeframe? Have they improved a process, making it more efficient for themselves and others? Are clients happy with their work?

Adopting this balanced perspective requires thoughtful introspection and deliberate efforts to shift our mindset. As managers, we can focus on stimulating high-quality outputs and productivity, rather than just logging hours. Recognize smart work, innovation, and unique value-contributions, regardless of the time spent. Managers can put this into action by:

Establishing clear objectives: Distinctly communicate the team’s goals and individual objectives. It’s important that each member understands what’s expected of them in terms of output, not hours.

Encouraging innovation: Provide a platform where team members can share creative ideas and solutions. Reward these suggestions, whether through verbal recognition, use of the suggestion, or even through innovation-centric rewards.

Giving regular feedback: Offer constructive feedback that focuses on the quality of work and value contributed rather than hours worked. Then ask how you can continue to support them going forward.

Promoting team member autonomy: Empower team members to take control of their work hours, encouraging them to work when they’re most productive to produce valuable results.

This shift will not only enhance productivity but also aid the well-being of team members. The shift may seem radical but is integral for the future of balanced and productive workplaces. The clock that truly matters is not only the one on the wall but also the one in each team member’s mind, ticking with innovative ideas, vibrant energy, and the will to create a difference.