Beyond the 9 to 5: Why Autonomous Workstyles Matter

A new report written for Workstyle Revolution by PhD student Melanie Kennedy from the University of Liverpool explores why autonomous workstyles are essential for people who are structurally excluded from the workforce. Produced as part of Melanie’s research placement with us, Beyond the 9 to 5: Why Autonomous Workstyles Are Essential for Structurally Excluded Groups brings fresh academic insight to a challenge we see every day.

The report focuses on how deeply embedded norms around the 9 to 5 working model continue to shape who can, and cannot, access employment. Drawing on Melanie’s wider research into disability, political participation and representation, the report highlights how rigid working structures disproportionately exclude disabled people and others whose lives do not fit a narrow definition of a ‘standard’ worker.

Why Autonomous Working Matters

Despite growing awareness of inclusion and wellbeing at work, most jobs are still designed around fixed hours, fixed locations and fixed expectations of capacity. For many people, particularly disabled people and those with fluctuating health, this makes participation in work either extremely difficult or impossible.

The report shows that these barriers are not about a lack of skill, motivation or talent. They are structural. When work is designed without autonomy, organisations lose access to a wide pool of capable people who are ready and able to contribute, if work is designed differently.

Key Insights from the Report

Autonomous working is not a ‘nice to have’, but a foundational requirement for many people to access and sustain work.

Structural barriers within the 9 to 5 model continue to exclude people before they even reach the recruitment stage.

Organisations are losing valuable talent by maintaining outdated assumptions about how, when and where work must happen.

Autonomous working should be offered as standard, wherever possible, rather than reserved as an adjustment for a select few.

The report makes a clear case for moving beyond incremental change and towards a workforce designed around autonomy by default. By doing so, organisations can build working environments that work better for everyone, including those most often left behind by traditional models of employment.

You can read the full report, Beyond the 9 to 5: Why Autonomous Workstyles Are Essential for Structurally Excluded Groups, here.

As always, we welcome thoughts, questions and discussion.