Working Time and Performance Introduction notes to the seminar „Goodbye working time – how to assess p&ms performance“ Gerald Musger Hamburg, February 2010

A thesis as starting point The organisation of work dissolves the traditional relations between performance, working hours, workload, intensity, control, transparency and payment, in particular for highly qualified work in the knowledge based society. That‘s why we need new answers how to assess professional and managerial work performance beyond counting the working hours, but also without mistaking employees with self-employed who may sign any free contract for services. This is a challenge for the concerned professionals and managers, for the employers and for the trade unions as well.

The traditional equations have worked well only for blue collar workers Employers engage employees for a fixed amount of working hours. If necessary, they request and pay overtime. Limitations of long working days motivated employers to raise productivity and intensity of work, in particular by introducing performance-linked payment (e.g. piece rate wages). The attempt to introduce performance-linked payment for professionals failed in most cases: > complexity does not allow simple performance measurement > performance depends on many parameters not influenced by the professional (team, company, market…) > responsibility factors beyond the direct field of work Even more complex for managerial positions

The complexity of professional and managerial work „corresponds“ with simple working time and wage models „Flexible work schedule“ (gliding time) goes along paying the working hours but allows more flexiblity and work-life coordination (mostly practised and well accepted working time for white-collar employees, professionals included). Payment for professionals often includes a small part of performance-linked extra (based on several models). For managers this part is significantly bigger. Overtime is now mostly payed in a lump sum (all-inclusive wages) which often means an open scale.

The simple models have their limits and contradictions The dynamics of gliding time focus on presence and rewards staying in the workplace, not working effectively (cf. „presenteeism“). Mobile work outside the office follows other rules (a puzzle of working time, waiting time, planned or forced breaks, travel time etc.) – impossible to measure seriously. Global markets need world-wide communication, at different times during a working day (time zones). Technology allows working anywhere (at home, travel, on holliday…) Performance-linked pay may lead to dangerous short-term and narrow- view orientation (the bonus trap)

Working time or not working time? Is this still the question? The work of professionals and managers means a complex mix of professional skills, competences, responsiblities, motivation and creativity, widely impossible to measure, neither by working hours nor by performance parameters. Employers are interested in developing and using this complexity when engaging professionals and managers. Employed professionals and managers are interested in safe, healthy, continuous working conditions and adequate payment. Working time no more the question?

Even if we say „goodbye to working time“, working time comes back as resource Life time, daily time is part of our personnel resources. Time when employees work is a key factor of planning for companies: for projects, for sharing tasks within a team, for cooperation and contracts with customers, business partners … Time is a commodity offered by service companies and paid by customers (e.g. service of an industrial system by specialists or an hour with a psychotherapist) – based on working time! Time is an important factor of balance in the society: How much and how long people work during their life, paid and unpaid working times at family, company, society levels… (including legislation based on working time terms)

Saying „goodbye to working time“ means enhanced challenge for responsible management Replacement by performance-pay is no way out: narrows the focus (bonus trap, short-term perspectives), reduces the overall-responsibility and liability especially of managers (freelancer trap). Innovative models must guarantee the health, safety and wage standards achieved even without direct link to the working time legislation and protection, meeting societal responsibilities. Work organisation must be based on responsible and careful planning of time resources, from individual to company levels. Functioning interfaces to areas working differently.

Introducing innovative models needs a line of trust, qualification, creativity and patience To enable the management to accept the challenge and to work out a procedure of introduction with the concerned employees (and their representatives) To implement a consequent management of resources To train all concerned to plan and commit tasks along new rules To let a climate of mutual trust raise To convince partners at the interfaces (inside and/or outside the company) that quality of work is guaranteed at least as good as before and different systems may cooperate well To be open for a continuous dialogue sharing and discussing experiences and developing models (other stakeholders incl.)

The message Paradigm shift in working time policy is an enormous challenge with a lot of open questions. Sticking to the model of counting working hours does no longer meet the interests of professionals and managers, but is a dead-end street. Let‘s have a dialogue with collegues who try to go a new way!