The 12-hour clock divides the day into two 12-hour segments (midnight to noon and noon to midnight). Thus, 2 o’clock in the afternoon is 14:00 on the 24-hour clock.

I come from a country that uses the 12-hour clock, but I much prefer transportation schedules that use the 24-hour clock. It means there’s less chance of being mistakenly booked on a flight that departs before my connecting flight arrives. In fact, many countries use the 12-hour clock when conversing, but use the 24-hour clock in timetables.

Sounds simple? Not so fast.

Many African cultures use the 12-hour clock, but start the cycle at 6 a.m. (sunrise) rather than 12 a.m. (midnight). In other words, 6 a.m. to 7 a.m. becomes the first hour of the day. You can think of this first hour as 00:00 to 1:00 on the 24-hour clock. Imagine the confusion if you schedule a meeting by asking for “2 o’clock”? Unless the exact time is clarified, your African colleague might think you meant 8 in the evening (2 o’clock = the start of the third hour of the cycle, which is at 8 in the morning or evening, according to certain African cultures). Confused yet? When scheduling appointments, it’s important to specify morning, afternoon, or evening if using the 12-hour clock. Alternatively, you could use the 24-hour clock considering it starts at midnight.

In Thailand, there’s a different twist on time. Thais divide the clock into four 6-hour segments: 07:00-12:59, 13:00-18:59, 19:00-00:59, and 01:00-06:59. When speaking among themselves, Thais divide the day into four 6-hour segments. Therefore, “1 in the evening” is the first hour of the 19:00-00:59 segment, or 7 p.m. on the 12-hour clock, 19:00 on the 24-hour clock. Click here for more information from Wikipedia on the six-hour clock.

Carrie
RW3 CultureWizard

In the Financial Times, a professor of accountancy says, “Brazilians are always late, meetings never start on time…You sit there for two hours talking about one thing, then another.” The argument is that because of the pace of business and the fluidity of “Brazilian time”, it may often become necessary to address certain emails and business needs outside of the regular work day.

In the CNN report below, one labor lawyer talks about “technological slavery” – that it’s impossible for us to disconnect from the internet, from our phones and thus from our jobs.

What do you think is more feasible: shutting down servers after hours to prevent work from taking place, or having the employer compensate the employee? Is responsiveness more important than work-life balance?

Sean
RW3 CultureWizard

If you’d like some more culture tips for the UK, click here to read our previous post on the matter.

Mark
RW3 CultureWizard

How’s this BBC piece for bucking the trend?

Volkswagen has agreed to stop its Blackberry servers sending emails to some of its employees when they are off-shift. The car maker confirmed it made the move earlier this year following complaints that staff’s work and home lives were becoming blurred.

Could you imagine your employer doing this?

Even more so, after a near-decade of cell phones and the internet keeping you constantly connected to your work, how would you feel about this? I know the idea of disconnecting from your work and fully connecting to your family and leisure time is a lovely concept, but would there be a downside to the business?

This begs the question that VW is attempting to answer: does your connection to work on a non-stop basis actually make you a more productive worker?

More and more, a disease of distraction affects modern workers. Enabled by the constant connectivity via smart phones and computers, and a myriad of other modern sociological issues, US workers waste nearly two hours a day doing non-work things. And, the US is not alone in this growing trend. Believe it or not, even the efficiency envy of the world, Germany, is dealing with a growing apathetic workforce that wastes significantly more time than their recent forebears (according to the same Inc. story).

Do you think VW and their works council made a wise move in limiting post-shift emails? Do you think allowing for more unfettered personal time creates a more inspired and focused employee?

Adam
RW3 CultureWizard

Here’s a story in the Huffington Post I think many of you will relate to in one way or another (Emerson certainly did). Recently, in Honolulu, a former Air Force sergeant, her husband and their two year-old daughter stop at the local supermarket, a national chain, to pick up some groceries. The mom, who happens to be 30 weeks pregnant, is famished and feeling faint. She quickly eats a $5 chicken salad sandwich. She pockets the sandwich wrapper with every intention of paying for it, finishes shopping, heads to the register with her husband and daughter and pays for her $50 worth of groceries.

The family exists the store and is immediately confronted by a security guard who informs her that she has just shoplifted. Surprised and embarrassed, the mom apologizes profusely and offers to immediately return inside to pay for the $5 sandwich. The security guard refuses her request, EVEN THOUGH SHE JUST BOUGHT $50 WORTH OF GROCERIES, and brings her, her husband and daughter to the store manager.

Now, here’s where the tale gets truly Orwellian. The supermarket manager, while sympathetic to the woman’s plight, is unwilling to break from store policy and calls the police. The police arrive, see that the “apprehended suspect” has a child with her, and, unwilling to break from policy, call in Child Services. Child Services arrives, and, unwilling to break from policy, TAKES THE CHILD INTO PROTECTIVE CUSTODY while the former Air Force Sergeant and 30-week pregnant mom and her husband are arrested and brought to jail.

Finally, after 18 hours in custody and posting $50 dollars bail, each, the mom and dad are reunited with their child, the national supermarket chain gets united with a public relations nightmare, and the couple starts fielding enquiries from a bevy of enthusiastic and skilled lawyers. And all for a $5 chicken salad sandwich. But here’s the rub, along every step of this terrible and ridiculous ordeal, the technocrats following the orders were fully aware of the absurdity of the policies they were enforcing but were unwilling to contradict them.

Now, in some ways we see this happening in the business world all the time, especially in an international arena, where the adherence to rules can vary significantly between cultures. Whether rules are applicable universally or on a case-by-case basis is often a hallmark of culture. According to psychologist Barry Schwartz and his compelling TED Lecture, the difference between a great manager and/or worker and a mediocre one is the wisdom to know when to follow a rule and when to ignore it. His lecture is a near case study in how humanity and wisdom make the world and workplace a better and more productive one.

In a complimentary lecture, take a look at how one visionary CEO, the largest manufacturer of carpets and flooring in the world, decided to trust his wisdom over prevailing opinion and make his company entirely green. It’s a story of exquisite executive foresight, courage and profitability. Believe it or not, in the 14 years since the company began their green and zero-impact protocols, sales have gone from $591 million to nearly $1.1 billion! How’s that for wisdom?

By the way, do you ever find yourself eating or drinking something you plan on buying at the supermarket before you pay for it? Couldn’t you compare this to dining at a restaurant where you eat first and pay later?

Adam
RW3 CultureWizard