Hierarchy In the Virtual Workplace

What are the pillars of an organizational structure?

Is it an established hierarchy? Demarcated structures? Or stellar leadership? Or a combination of the three?

Though these seem like the pillars of any corporate organization that works seamlessly and holds it together in the face of threats and competition, this is the narrative of the yesteryears and has very little relevance today, and more so in this post-pandemic world.

It is counterintuitive. 

According to Lindred Greer, a professor of organizational behavior at Stanford Graduate School of Business, "When you look at real organizations, having a clear hierarchy within your firm makes people turn on each other when they face an outside threat."

And that threat today is called Covid-19, resulting in pay cuts and loss of jobs.

For effective teamwork and smooth functioning, we need agile and flat teams where everyone takes responsibility for a piece of the pie, and all voices count. 

How did the hierarchy in the workplace evolve?

If we look into the history of how organizations developed and structured themselves, we can understand the rise of hierarchy and how it came into being. During the Industrial Revolution, the constant demand for output/products increased the number of machines and factory workers. However, this created a clear distinction between the owner of the machines (owing to its high cost) and the employees who operated them. This division of labor gave birth to workplace hierarchy - where the supervisors compelled the employees to work at the machines' pace to turn a profit. 

For example, Josiah Wedgwood owned pottery works at Etruria in England. He believed in the "strictest economy of labor." His plant was laid out like the modern assembly line - the pots were first formed and then passed to the painting room, the kiln room, the account room (for inventory control), and storage before shipping. In potteries before this time, the workers could move from one task to another; in Wedgwood's, the employees were assigned a particular post and only worked on one task. 

But we are not in the Industrial Revolution anymore. We are a part of the knowledge-based economy, and the rules of this game are vastly different. What worked during those times, logically, cannot work today. Though the business has grown in leaps and bounds, organizations still employ the old rules and structures that serve a more mechanical work environment. 

An experiment conducted by Lisanne van Bunderen of the University of Amsterdam and Daan Van Knippenberg of Drexel University gives us a clear answer.

Their experiment had teams of three students work together on a project that had to be developed and pitched to a client. Some of these teams were assigned arbitrary hierarchy and titles such as senior consultant, consultant, junior consultant, et al.; while the others were non-hierarchical. They also introduced another parameter of rivalry and competition from a rival firm for the clients. The researchers found that the hierarchical groups in structure and were facing competition from rival teams struggled with internal disagreements and dissonance. In contrast, the non-hierarchical teams cooperated and thrived. 

Moving ahead a few decades, if we look into the current scenario (pre-covid), some of these structures could have still held their ground because everyone was available in person. This meant more accessible communication, better management of teams, and better leaders to influence their teams with their presence and power.

David is a senior manager for a team of 15 people of a large #digital healthcare firm. He has spent about 18+ years working his way up from the field to a managerial post. He draws about 40+ lakhs per annum. He assumes he has a steady job and a secure future. He manages his team well, keeps them motivated, and ensures deliverables. Even if he was transactional and operational in the way he dealt with his team, it did not affect his relevance and upward movement on the corporate ladder. 

But with the advent of a pandemic and radical shifts in perspectives and working, leaders and organizations are being pushed to rethink their strategies even more. With the possible exception of the World Wars, very few events have had such drastic impacts on the global workforce as the pandemic of Covid-19. Offices shut down, and everyone was suddenly remote and virtual. 

So what is the role that David plays today?

Is he reduced to a pencil pusher who simply updates the senior management of his team's progress? How is he contributing to the organization beyond his role as a manager?

A typical course of events would include David becoming irrelevant and expensive to the organization, and then being forced to take a furlough and eventually a possible off-roll situation. 

Though it was a rocky start, today, we hear about many organizations looking to make remote working arrangements a permanent option given the potential cost, productivity, and talent attraction benefits.

Deloitte's report on Remote work estimates a potential 50 million jobs could switch to remote work across the ASEAN-6 countries. The lasting impact of Covid-19 on the workforce will be the permanent switch to remote working. Some of the organizations considering this move include:

• ???????? ????????????????????? ???????????????? (TCS), headquartered in India, is preparing to have 75% of its workforce working from home by 2025.
• ?????????????? plans on having 33%-50% of its workforce work from home permanently.
• ???????????????????? allows its employees to work from home until COVID-19 fears subside, and people feel comfortable coming into offices.
• ?????????????????? is giving its employees the option to work from home through at least January 19, 2021.
• All of ??????????????'s 5,000 employees can work from home indefinitely.
• One hundred forty thousand of ??????????????' employees can permanently work from home for two to three days per week.
• Most ?????????? employees have the option to work from home forever, and Slack is committing to hiring more permanently remote employees.
• Employees at ?????????????? will be able to work from home indefinitely, going into the office if and when they choose.
• ???????????? is ever adopting a remote-first model, with remote work being the default for all employees.
• Most employees at ??????????? will be able to work from home permanently.
• ????????????? will be converting offices to team meeting spaces post-pandemic, and employees will be able to work from home most of the week moving forward.

Why are organizations making this choice to switch to remote working?

Remote working provides many benefits for the organizations and employees alike:

• Reduced costs: According to Global Workplace Analytics, employers can save over $11,000 per half-time telecommuter per year.
• Reduced attrition rates: Losing a valued employee can cost an employer $10,000 to $30,000.
• Expands the talent pool beyond the locally available talent. This means a far greater chance of finding someone with the exact skills, experience, and personality to fit their organization's best.
• Above all, increased productivity: Studies show that remote employees are 20% to 25% more productive than working in an office. They can structure their days with more flexibility to take necessary breaks when needed, which psychologists claim is why their increased productivity. 

So how can organizations structure themselves? 

Hierarchy is an outdated system. The perspective that people cannot self-manage and deliver has been challenged and proved otherwise by the pandemic. The high productivity numbers and the policy change in many large firms' organizational structures are a testimonial to this.

While hierarchy creates a need for fending for oneself, a flat structure lends itself to the feeling of camaraderie and being in the same boat where everyone is accountable.

Hierarchy has its place and context. No hierarchy is not the answer. Imagine an operation theatre with a surgeon and a nurse. If you take away the power of the surgeon to lead, then it can cause disruptions. Similarly, if the surgeon is too overpowering, that could be problematic again. 

What does it mean for leaders today?

Leaders need to relook themselves as individual contributors and ask themselves how they can hone their skills and align themselves to the organizational goals.

Like with the example of the surgeon and the nurse, when combatting a crisis, a leader can and should take charge. But when dealing with the aftermath of a non-crisis everyday functioning, it would help if teams and leaders were fluid. No one is a leader; no one is a follower. Everyone is working towards achieving the same goals - a shift from a commanding position to allowing everyone to have a say.

But more importantly, it is time for leaders to relook at their roles and contributions to the organization.

If managing people and providing updates is redundant, what can they do to contribute beyond this role?

Leaders need to relook themselves as individual contributors and ask themselves how they can hone their skills and align themselves to the organizational goals. Though this might not have been on their agenda, the current disruptions urge the leaders to do so. In the light of this choice, it would bode well for the leaders to parallelly empower their teams to work in an agile manner and self manage; and focus on the deliverables, not the time put in (especially in the virtual context). 

How can you do this?

• Focus on keeping your eyes on the big picture and inspire and motivate teams, rather than control them
• Think of ways to contribute individually and hone your skill sets
• Lead by being a part of the team - be available to support individual needs
• Be mindful - Allow teams time and space to process and work with their rhythm while keeping deliverables in mind.
• Encourage and schedule personal and social conversations—Check-in with team members to address personal work-related grievances.
• Provide opportunities for coordination

This is the time to ditch the transactional modes of operation and embrace the softer nuances of leading teams using skills like empathy, emotional intelligence, and building trust.

To evolve and shine as a leader in today's world, one must learn to walk shoulder to shoulder with their teams and be ready to roll up their sleeves to get their hands dirty - and not just lead from the front. 

I welcome your thoughts and perspectives on this Article and your personal experiences.

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