Jobs and Innovation: 7-to-7 Is the New 9-to-5

Mobile technology has made the traditional 9-to-5 office hours outdated. In lieu of the 8-hour traditional pattern, many office employees now clock in 12 hours of work from 7-to-7.

However, a new study said not all of those 12 hours are now spent in the office; rather, part of the work is done at home before the office worker leaves since he had the opportunity to check and respond to important emails via mobile devices.

That is the reason why a growing number of employers don't mind workers coming in late because they are aware that their staff started their day at around 7 by partly working from home.

As a result, workers typically start their working day at 7:17 a.m. and end it at 7:02 p.m., although in between they performed some office function at home and some household chores such as online grocery shopping while in the office.

However, Barbara Holmes, director of consultancy Managing Work/Life Balance, said the rise of new working styles goes beyond a change in official working hours.

"It's not about whether we work nine to five anymore because we don't work nine to five anymore. That whole rigid structure no longer exists.... Yes people may well be logging on at 7 a.m. to do their emails but people are working differently and may also be doing some personal things while they are in a work space. This could be just what people are looking for," News.com.au quoted Ms Holmes.

As more employers and employees accept flexible working policies as the new norm and part of the greater push for work-life balance, a growing number of workers are moving into that less rigid working arrangement.

A work-life balance index found that since 2008, Australians logged five points higher in the global average of 124. The index was based on responses from 16,000 business professionals in over 80 nations.

As a trade-off for the more flexible working hours, most of the survey respondents said they had actually added more duties since the global financial crisis as companies cut staff and gave more tasks to workers they retained.

One Australian firm that has increased the percentage of workers who enjoy flexitime is Adidas which reported that from a few working mothers the number has grown to 4 per cent of the company's staff.

Kate Valerio, the human resources director of Adidas Australia, said allowing more workers flexible working hours have boosted the firm's return rate from parental leave to double over a two-year period. At the same time, the firm retained valuable workers and save money in recruitment and retraining costs.