An Effective Tool for Work?

“One thing is clear about the future of work:

hybrid work arrangements

are becoming the norm for many organizations.

And no matter the industry,

the concerns involve the same 5C challenges:

Communication, Coordination, Connection, Creativity, and Culture.”

— Warton@work

Emails, Zoom and team calls, ….??They got us through, but is it sustainable?’

How we work today reflects how we needed to redesign the workplace to respond to the pandemic.

My question is:

? “How’s it working for you?

? For your customers?

? For your newest and youngest employees?”

What decisions have you made about working remotely or in a hybrid model, or are you calling your workforce back in its entirety as you evaluate the needs of the job?

? How has your work life changed?

I now receive so many emails — and such a volume of transactions electronically — that I am never separated from my phone. My inbox has more than 12,000 emails (all read and acted upon, but some have been held to be fully read later). I spend too much time in front of the laptop or looking at my phone instead of in front of those whom I support, coach, counsel, facilitate, and love. I can accomplish a lot in this remote setting; I can even work from another country while gazing at blue waters. But for me, while the introduction of new technology and ways of working remotely has gotten us through, I’m not certain if it’s sustainable.

I cannot keep up with the emails. I don’t want to spend all day on Zoom calls. I appreciate that I can work easily with a team spread across the US and overseas, and I want to continue those connections. However, I would like to increase my work with people face-to-face for planning, innovating, orienting, intervening, resolving, and learning together while we do the work of change.

? How are you feeling?

? What are you thinking?

A recent Fortune article was entitled:

“Bosses are fed up with remote work for 4 main reasons.?Some of them are undeniable.”

The article quotes the research of Kevin Drum, an economic blogger. He cites that the “tide is turning against remote work (rightly or wrongly) because”:

1.?Remote work is bad for new hires and junior employees.?Drum quoted a survey from Paychex that found that 80% of new hires will quit a job if they had a poor on-boarding experience.

I am concerned about how we communicate the organization’s culture, values, and relationship network, let alone the informal mentoring and exchange of information that happens when we come together as a working community.

2. Workers admit that remote work sometimes causes more problems than in-person work.

Drum quoted McKinsey studies and a Stanford economics professor who highlighted that teams suffer when they can’t be together. He said even if you ride the fence with a hybrid solution, those in the office are now just using Zoom calls to communicate with the rest of their team.

I believe there is a role for remote and hybrid work, but it needs to be evaluated through the lens of many questions and be a flexible solution that is revisited often. The landscape of the workplace, working environments, and working relationships are forever changed. Let’s keep up the effort to find solutions that result in the best outcomes for the organization's mission, the customers, the future, and the workforce. Supporting the organization and its constituents with leadership, effective managers, and meaningful work is still the main goal.

3. Remote workers put in 3.5 fewer hours of work per day than in-person workers.

I find this fact hard to swallow since I am working longer and harder in a remote/hybrid model. However, in a report generated by Liberty Street Economics, an arm of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, researchers made calculations based on the American Time Use Survey to find that there was a decrease in time spent working.

I find working from home a great way to work both my home life list of responsibilities while working my work life list, but this existence is ripe with interruptions, which make doing deep thinking projects more challenging. My stress is higher because I think I should be doing it all – all the time. I need the boundaries between work-life and home-life. I will always work harder than the average person, but now the boundaries are blurred. I am challenged by this phenomenon; is anyone else??

4.?Productivity plummets on days when everyone is working remotely (anecdotal data).

Drum could only retell stories shared with him about how individuals feel about productivity in the office and remotely.?The factual data came from a Pew survey where respondents acknowledged that not being in the office and visible to others might hurt opportunities for advancement, mentoring, and making connections.

?

I know that 20% to 40% of organizational energy is diverted to unresolved conflicts. I can see the conflicts created in email chain communication and on remote calls but have yet to see a conflict resolved or engaged productively in a remote setting. Does this mean the % of time avoiding talking about the conflict and letting it impact relationships and productivity rises? Will the disconnects become a threat to quality, safety, and service?

The Fortune article was shared with me, and I decided to pass it on to other leaders and managers to see what they thought. I know there is never one right answer to complex and moving problems, so I appreciate the perspectives of others. Here are some responses:

From a manufacturing CEO:

“1. Doesn’t work at all for new employees. They have too many things to learn; foremost is the company culture, which is non-existent in remote work.

“2. Team-based work is much harder when the team is not physically together. That is not to say that teams, which are already physically distant, can’t work on joint projects, just that it requires discipline and over-the-top communication.

“3. Don’t assume that workers in the office are 100% productive. Depending on the company culture, there may be a lot of unproductive time spent on socialization, interruptions, and lack of focus — all of which can be avoided in remote work settings IF the remote work environment is structured properly. Discipline is key to productivity in remote settings.

“4. Some job functions are essentially remote, even if the work is in an office. Programming and financial analysis are two examples. Given the right discipline, a work environment at the remote site, and excellent communication and follow-up by supervisors, remote work in a hybrid environment can work very well.”

From a COO:

“I agree with much of what is outlined in this article. During COVID, I rang this bell at leadership meetings as I quickly began to experience issues that stemmed from remote work. It was not a favorable topic to discuss, as many of my peers enjoyed going remote. I am not totally against remote work — I know we had to shift to that to keep everyone safe. But my general sense is that if we were filling remote positions today, some of the staff in positions would not have been considered to be good remote workers. Start times, break times, and end times became misaligned. Often, in-office/shop folks had to assist remote workers with something they typically would have had visibility of if they were in the office.

“I have a strong work ethic, a lot of drive, and high capacity. I am, however, a crappy remote worker. The fridge is close, and a dog walk now and then is nice. And my wife feels like if I am home, I am always available to help her with something 'really quick.'”

Another CEO who is deeply engaged in creating culture:

“The pandemic taught — or forced us to learn — that remote work is possible. But just because it's possible does not mean it's the best option. I think there are a lot of factors that determine whether it is a successful strategy. Or not.

“1. Does it fit your company’s vision? Are you playing the infinite game or pushing to turn one quick profit after another?

“2. Are you people-centric or profit-focused?

“3. Do you promote a culture of accountability? This takes on strong leaders at all levels, not just good managers.

“4. Do you trust your people? If not, do you have the right people in the right seats?

“5. What is your theory on work/life harmony?”

Other Thoughts from Other Leaders:

? All complex points and no 100% right answer out there but that is to be expected because people are involved.

? When the pandemic hit our company, we went remote — everyone except the warehouse, where we rotated shifts. We learned from this that not everyone works well in a remote setting. Most of our employees would rather be in the office. Some, though, do work well on a hybrid schedule and still work remotely two days a week. We also have some who have proven themselves unable to stay focused remotely. It's an ever-evolving strategy, but the key is knowing your people. Work/Life harmony is important.

? Remote work forced us to improve our processes and have a written policy to help management maintain accountability. Still not easy...

But with all that said, we know that creative collaboration happens best when employees are together in the office. Lots of good things happen with "conversations around the water cooler." We have evolved to understand the value of having a positive culture and an environment to attract staff into the office.

? It takes strong leadership with good communication in every aspect of the company to keep remote workers accountable and make the concept work. It's not easy, but it is possible for some.

?

These thoughtful responses are as valuable to me as the factual reporting.?I appreciate the data and also want to hear how things really work.

? Do you have an opinion or experience to share?

Lastly, a wise colleague (Elizabeth Willets) added this to my thinking:

“The REAL reason people don’t want to return to the office full-time?

Because, for the first time, they’ve experienced a life without compromise.

A life where they can:

→ Drop the kids at school AND start work on time

→ Work an 8-hour day WITHOUT burnout

→ Hit every deadline AND eat three home-cooked meals a day

→ Collaborate with colleagues AND avoid an exhausting commute

→ Finish work at 5 PM AND be in the gym by 5:30 PM

→ Do their job brilliantly AND save ￡500+ a month on travel

For too long, the default expectation was that work had to come first. That climbing the career ladder meant sacrificing health, family time, and even basic well-being.

But now?

People have seen another way — one where they can excel in their careers AND live their lives.

And they’re not willing to give that up!

If your company can offer flexible working and chooses not to, you won’t just struggle to hire. You’ll struggle to keep the talent you already have.

Because when plenty of places do offer flexibility… Why should people settle for less?”

We are navigating times in which none of us has all the experience.?To find our answers, we must engage in questions, seek different perspectives, risk and try new things, as Stephen Covey would say, “Begin with the end in mind."

Leslie

“One of the things you can always depend on –

This is one of the truths of the universe —

Whatever we decide we want to do

is what we do.”

— Morgan Freeman