Slow Business means working less to work better. It’s about managing your own time and your team’s time better by stopping running around after it. This new trend recommends a better work/life balance to achieve greater efficiency at work. It makes quite an appealing slogan!

Slow Business = Working slowly?

Contrary to what you might think, Slow Business is not an apology for slowness, but quite the opposite! Its real aim is to make people think about how they manage their time at work and to establish a better balance and environment for their staff, in order to achieve greater long-term effectiveness. Because really presence doesn’t always translate to performance. Some managers still find it difficult to reject this incorrect association.

The Results Only Work Environment (ROWE) is an illustration of the Slow Business concept. It is a system in which employees have full control over their timetable and decide how they’re going to organise their work. They are assessed solely on their output and not the amount of time they were present. It seems that around 13% of companies in the US have already adopted this model, and surely not without good reason.

An American trend already on its way

In countless surveys executives have expressed unhappiness about the amount of pressure they’re under at work. They also talk about the difficulty they have in achieving a good work/life balance. There’s no miracle cure, but Americans are clearly a step ahead with this. And their ideas are heading to France…

Some employers have already signed contracts with ‘siesta’ bars, for example in central Paris, while others have set up company crèches. So, there’s obviously a real sense of a need for change in the direction of Slow Business, though they might not actually know the name.

Why is Slow Business so slow to be introduced?

Unbelievable as it may seem, Slow Business is very slow to be introduced into companies because of their natural caution. Companies fear that if they give their staff more flexibility, it will affect the way their business operates. And it’s a well-known fact that the French are more risk averse than the Americans! However, nothing comes from nothing…

It’s worth considering this trend because time management is something practical you can actually work on.

So, when you’ve had enough of wasting time on nothing, slow down!

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