40 working hours, the only reality?

Ismael talks with Carlos Hernández from Quaderno about time, happiness, and how another way of working is possible:

They say the first step to reaching happiness is believing you have the right to create your own definition of happiness. Because although the goal is common—who doesn't want it—, our projects as individuals, as teams, and as companies are different, and so are our paths. Today I'm going to share part of Carlos's journey and Quaderno. I encourage you to read to the end because the story of this software company that's been profitable for over 20 years running a SaaS working 25 hours a week is pure gold.

The purpose 'making people happier at work' takes shape in multiple ways, for the Soluble team and also for our clients. In fact, there are as many ways as there are people. One of the most repeated, however, is seeking another way to understand work. A way that fits the context and reality of different organizations and teams: flexibility, autonomy, hybrid work, full remote, intensive hours, productivity windows...

In another time I've already talked about how we pursue work that contributes to a full life, to being happy inside and outside the workday. And in our constant search, we like to surround ourselves with inspiring examples—people, companies, and teams—that seek their own definition of happiness and write their own rules.

Interesting and inspiring is the perspective of our admired Carlos Hernández, CEO and founder of Quaderno. His software, developed remotely but with a significant portion of the team in Las Palmas, automates tax management in online transactions to eliminate the stress and confusion that usually surrounds this sector. In other words, it drastically reduces the hours that companies—or rather, the people who work in those companies—have to spend figuring out how to charge VAT depending on the country where they're selling. In other words, they give back time. Time for their clients to dedicate to growing their businesses, time for them to focus on the work that matters most to them. Time to be happier.

It's no coincidence that over 10,000 companies already trust them. And it's no coincidence either that this is lived out in the Quaderno team: they work 25 hours a week. "We decided to work 25 hours a week because we don't measure efficiency by the number of hours we spend sitting in a chair, but by the quality of those hours," Carlos tells me when I ask him to share his experience. "If you strip away the pointless meetings, break times, and casual conversations from a standard workday, you're left with four or five hours of truly productive work."

For him "what makes no sense is continuing to apply the same scheduling patterns from 100 years ago". And I couldn't agree more. More flexible and reduced work schedules in companies that operate by tasks and objectives are, for more and more businesses, a natural consequence of that way of understanding work and also life. Some have already undertaken the experiment of the four-day work week, something that can have a positive impact on the company's bottom line. None of these solutions is perfect for every company, I know that, each one has to find its own. Claim their own freedoms.

But what is absolutely proven is that people work better when they have control over their schedules. Because that means being able to attend to their biorhythms, responsibilities and hobbies. In many cases, also being more productive. But that's not the only important thing: "Are we going a bit slower than if we worked 40 hours a week? Maybe. It's not a problem for us. For us it's fundamental to have a life outside the work environment. Work to live, not live to work".

I'm convinced that we're not alone, that Carlos is just one of the examples showing that another kind of work is possible and that yes, we can be happier at work.