Here are some tips I learned from successful women entrepreneurs who have increased the productivity levels within their companies. Many of them have also created businesses models based on the 30-hour work week that is being used by Amazon and other countries around the world.
♦ Have written and well known company values
The values should be discussed regularly and actually run the company rather than the people.
♦ Reduce or eliminate personal use of technology
Avoid getting trapped in 'technoland' during the workday, i.e. email, cell phone, Twitter, Facebook, etc.
♦ Allow work from home and pay by project rather than hourly
OR reduce full time salary slightly and reward based on quality and bottom line rather than just hourly.
♦ Have weekly planning sessions for teams
Be thoughtful about the amount of email that is sent internally. Use face-to-face communication rather than email for basic communication.
Utilize leadership and leader behavior to increase the level of communication among the team.
♦ Allow for leaders to emerge at every level of the company
Breed creative thinkers and problem solvers.
♦ Negotiate contracts on a work week that is shorter
Have set contact hours that are less than the ones you actually work.
♦ Take frequent vacation/time off
If you schedule it, it will happen!
♦ Everyone in the company should have goals in all areas of their lives
Maintain a state of freedom and choice versus the thought that life is all work.
♦ Other 30 hour workweek benefits
Research has shown that people who work longer hours have a significantly higher chance of suffering from a stroke. A study published in The Lancet looked at 600,000 workers in multiple countries over a period of eight-and-a-half years. The people who worked 55 hours a week had a 33 percent greater chance of having a stroke than people who worked between 35 and 40 hours a week.
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