4
Sample 1
Task 4: Vision of Flexibility
Western Governors University
WGU Student ID # 00000000
, Hating a job is not a new idea. “9 to 5,” “Working for the Weekend,” and “Take this Job
and Shove It” are all songs that exist not only for entertainment purposes, but also as a message
of general distaste for jobs and those that manage them, as well as for the time spent there. The
idea of a 9-to-5 job at this point seems like a luxury, where most jobs these days, blue or white
collar, begin well before 9am and end well after 5pm, without including work taken home, the
stress of commuting, and the stress work drama can cause on the body. All of this places strain
on home lives and family. This was evidenced by Edwards and Meyers, two of our very best
employees in the sales division, taking new jobs last year because of the lack of time they had to
spend with their family, as well as Eckart’s early retirement after her heart attack in 2018. All of
this was compounded by the effects of Covid, which sent the company scrambling to figure out
ways to allow the majority of the company an opportunity to work from home, though 22% of
those employed had no way to do their jobs remotely. Part of this was the fact that this company
had no contingency plan in place and no logical options for flexible workweeks. There are more
than enough examples of how the classic workweek and ever-lengthening workday have hurt not
only the employees of this company but also those from other companies across the world. The
best solution to the problem of these types of work-based issues is to move toward a flexible
workweek because it will improve work-life balance and improve productivity.
The first step in this plan is to poll workers on their opinions concerning solutions to
work-based issues, starting with telecommuting. It is illogical for management to attempt to
solve the problems of many by creating a blanket solution. Instead, it’s important to listen to
those currently working and living in the positions, so a series of possible solutions can be
developed. This is not an easy task or one that will be solved overnight because every worker
and their situations are different. After looking at some research, there is no doubt that this is a