A Return to Normal Working Hours - Building Gender Balanced Business

• Nine to five is back in vogue for a growing number of high-level women — and, in some cases, men — who are building barricades to keep work in its place, reports Forbes in its new magazine for women.

• The balance is espoused by executives such as Ann Mulcahy, CEO of Xerox. Forbes summarizes it as: “Businesses need to be 24/7. Individuals don’t.”

• Sharon Meers, a former Goldman Sachs managing director who is a co-author of Getting to 50/50: How Working Couples Can Have It All by Sharing It All, recommends, “Position it as, ‘I’m really good at my job,’ and be sure to explain how this will help your organization or company.”

• Meers argues that nonstop work is counterproductive for a company. “We know from the research that people who work 24/7 are the ones who cause fire drills. There’s a perception that working that much is heroic, but work quality suffers when you stay at the office too long.”

The Forbes article