A 24-hour economy needs mindset change

Shoppers at a supermarket in Nyeri. Many executives, especially of supermarkets, still want to increase numbers using shifts. FILE PHOTO | JOSEPH KANYI |

What you need to know:

  • Those who think night shifts are for the lowly factory worker and watchman need to perish the thought.
  • We don’t need an official start whistle for Kenya to become a 24-hour economy.

For several years now, national discourse has centred around the need for our country to embrace a 24-hour economy. For many of us, such an economy is only possible where security is superb and transport modern.

But even with Kenya’s current infrastructure challenges, questions arise: How well do we us use the traditional eight office hours? Are employees motivated and therefore fired up to perform beyond the 8-5pm cycle, or are their sole objective to pick the paycheck at the end of the month?

The world is changing fast, and captains of industry have to be innovative and embrace smarter methods of doing business. We must shed outdated methods.

For example, those who think night shifts are for the lowly factory worker and watchman need to perish the thought.

And an employee’s physical presence does not imply better performance. He or she could physically present, seated before a computer, but miles away mentally and even emotionally.

And talking of computers, workers can now work from any location. Their absence does not mean lower performance.

AUTOMATED FUNCTIONS

In this age where workers have alternative platforms other than those provided in the office, it is self-defeating to hurdle employees in the office from dawn to dusk.

This is a conversation those who are locked in the past would not want to engage in, but it’s a reality we can’t run away from. We need to know how much our computers can do. A computer in your office could, for instance, be programmed to run most of your activities. Many functions in your factory could be automated.

I know some will quickly retort that this automation would put our people out of work. In the ICT world, in which Kenya is a significant player, this kind of thinking is retrogressive. ICT is a reality we must be prepared to face.

Consultants best illustrate why an employee’s performance should not be measured by the time spent in the office. Very few of them are stationed at the client institutions, yet their output is usually superb, and delivered in record time.

So, if its productivity we are looking for, we should consider putting most of our workforce on consultancy and allow them to operate from a place of their choice.

Those professionals who do not need to interact with their external and internal customers daily — auditors, writers, system analysts, computer operators, etc — could quickly move out of their physical offices and even work from home.

If you carried out an audit of the operations of your employees and workflows, you would realise that you do not need that large office space to operate efficiently. You may consider paying your virtual workers on deliverables rather than on the amount of time they spend in the office. Your savings could then be shared with them, and everyone would be happy!

The point I’m making is that we don’t need an official start whistle for Kenya to become a 24-hour economy. Workers should be able make a choice about what to earn and disabuse themselves of that sense of entitlement that has lead to frequent demonstrations over pay.

Unfortunately, many executives, especially of supermarkets, still want to increase numbers using shifts. Perhaps they lack the discipline that comes with managing a non-stop work environment.

Mr Mwasi is acting chief executive officer, Kenya Yearbook Editorial Board.