The Golden Hammer

Do you remember when we used to consider any piece of content older than few years obsolete? Nowadays, articles released older than 2 weeks are considered too old. Let this soak in for a moment.

I started writing this article in the first half of February 2020, never got the chance to publish it. Looking at it now, it seems ancient!

In 1888, a jewler called Willard Bundy invented the punch clock. In modern days, employees release a big sigh as the "thank you" voice reassures them they are still on a payroll. When I started working for money 22 years ago, I never thought the concept of "punching the clock" would still exist in 2021. What a relief it still does. After all, physical presence is more important than emotional engagement, right? How else can a manager track the performance of his team?

The debate on flexible working hours, working from anywhere, and other workplace arrangements is ongoing, and fierse to say the least. There are strong arguments against this type of culture, and other equally strong arguments that support it.

I am assuming you, the reader of this article, are a very desciplined professional who would never try to seize any opportunity to layback and get paid without being productive, at any point in your life. 

So take last year for instance, especially during the lockdown and the following period where all offices were closed for months; all of us were forced to work from home. How did some of your colleagues do? Did you come across few who where not even answering their phones, let alone responding to their emails?

In psychology, the term is called opportunism; the practice of taking advantage of circomstances. It is a human nature and a natural result of our evolution; it kept our species far from being extinct, along with laziness and negativity!

This is one strong argument; there is punching clock, people are disciplined, remove punching clock and give people the freedom to work, and opportunism coupled with lazyness kicks in! It is not our falt, this is how we were programmed, it is what science says!

BUT, and I understand this could be the most load bearing conjunction for corporate leaders, cue "The Golden Hammer"!

The "law of the hammer" or "the golden hammer" is a concept attributed to Abraham Maslow, who is best known for "Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory". Simply put, if the only tool you have is a hammer, it is easier to treat every challenge or problem as if they were nails. The basic premise for the very existence of the punch clock in any organization is clear; employee discipline tracking. This naturally introduces the dilemma of objective verification vs. fundamental trust.

There are countless researches, studies, articles and viewpoints that explain the objectives, benefits and precautions of having a flexible working environment. The bottom line is “If you can’t trust your employees to work flexibly, why hire them in the first place?” and “If you trust an individual enough that you hired them to join your organization, you also should trust them to get the work done when and where they prefer, as long as they meet deadlines.”

That being said, here are few caveats:

• It is a culture, so “badge of honour” shaming is a big problem, such as "the raised eyebrows and half-joking comments made by peers when a staff member leaves the office earlier” or in many cases on time. Also, hiding the fact that someone enjoyed a relaxing free weekend or vacation because the culture thinks “work is above all”, that is an interesting tell-tale within an organization.
• There must exist a technology to support this type of work. Examples are Microsoft Office 365, Avaya Spaces (full disclosure, Avaya used to be my employer) Cisco jabber and many others, and their associated workplace analytics. This can keep employees engaged and productive, wherever they are. 
• Finally, setting work performance monitoring based on actual work outcomes, not long hours attendance and number of meetinngs. This is simpler than most think; commercial people must meet their “individual” numbers, operations people must deliver on time and quality, and so on. If someone is not doing their job properly, it is not only his “direct” manager who has a say, but the rest of the group who is part of the “system” which got impacted. Consequences must exist if this impact is based on negligence and similar reasons. Not continuously developing oneself or not always staying informed is part of negligence, especially in this hypercompetitive age.

Change is scary, especially if the only "hammer" you have is a "punch clock". But how can we change? Well, the only way managers and leaders can have more tools is that if they possess functional, interpersonal and conceptual skills.

But hey, what do I know, I am only an ENTP!

Some References: 

https://www2.deloitte.com/xe/en/pages/about-deloitte/articles/gx-striking-a-balance.html

https://www.thenational.ae/uae/flexible-working-hours-needed-to-boost-morale-and-productivity-say-uae-recruiters-1.886413

https://hbr.org/2019/01/what-pwc-learned-from-its-policy-of-flexible-work-for-everyone

https://hbr.org/2019/08/is-it-time-to-let-employees-work-from-anywhere

https://hbr.org/2017/11/how-we-nudged-employees-to-embrace-flexible-work