Have you ever slogged through a working day, distracted and unmotivated, only to get a burst of energy in the last half hour of your shift? Or maybe you’ve started the day raring to go, but later realised that all of your most important tasks were scheduled for the afternoon, when you know your focus starts to wane?

Because flexible working is now a major priority for many employees (84% of men and 91% of women, according to a recent study), new ways of working are emerging that better serve our desire for work-life balance and encourage strategies that allow us to be more productive in the ways that suit us.

Enter: windowed working.     

While the chronoworking trend encourages us to sync our working day with our natural sleep and wake cycles – prioritising our hardest task for the parts of the day when we’re most energised and productive – the idea of windowed work follows a similar idea.

“Instead of a standard 9-5 workday, windowed working can look like setting core hours – 10am–2pm, say – where teams come together to collaborate,” explains career expert Victoria McLean, founder and CEO of career consultancy City CV. “Outside of these windows, employees are free to manage their time as they see fit.”

For example, the hours of 7–10am could be used for independent tasks like replying to emails or preparing presentations for those who work best in the morning, leaving the late afternoon free. Night owls could take longer breaks throughout the day in order to knuckle down post-dinner from 8–11pm. The key is the ability to work flexibly on a timeframe that suits you, while also being able to engage with the other members of your team when needed.

If the pandemic and shift towards hybrid working taught us anything, it’s that the traditional 9–5 structure doesn’t work for everyone; it doesn’t account for the profound cultural and technological changes that have taken place or consider employee productivity windows, which can vary vastly.

However, the real beauty of windowed working lies in trust, says McClean. “Giving employees the flexibility to manage their own time boosts productivity, creativity and engagement,” she suggests. “It increases job satisfaction by showing employees that their needs are respected, whether it’s for childcare or just a more productive time of day.”

But while windowed work might sound ideal for some, there are a few things to watch out for. As McLean points out, without clear guidelines, teams might struggle with communication gaps or misunderstandings about availability. There’s also the risk of boundaries being blurred: when does the workday really end if everyone is working at different times? “It’s essential to create clear frameworks and expectations around availability and collaboration so that things can run smoothly,” she adds.

To implement windowed working successfully, you need to start on solid ground, says McClean. “Setting clear communication guidelines is the cardinal rule, so that everyone knows when and how to be available,” she explains. It’s also crucial to equip teams with the right tools for virtual collaboration, like shared calendars and project management platforms. Run a trial period, monitor metrics, gain employee feedback and iterate.”

Richard Alderson, founder of Careershifters, adds: “When approaching your manager, start by being clear about the benefits you see for yourself (such as increased productivity and engagement with tasks) and the organisation as a whole (improved performance and profitability). Windowed working is a significant change for many businesses, so don’t be disheartened if it takes some time to gain traction and set up. Suggesting a trial period first to see how things go might help bridge the gap.”

“My best advice is to be clear and practical,” concludes McClean. “Take the time to understand your manager’s priorities, then show how windowed work aligns with team goals. Also, do a bit of research: proposing tools or strategies that will keep everyone connected will help assuage your manager’s concerns and reassure them that communication won’t suffer. Most leaders are open to flexibility when they see how it can enhance productivity.”

Images: Getty