Performance vs Presence and the Gender Divide

As a man, I'm lucky enough to know that an employer will never ask questions about my family life to determine my suitability for a position. I will be judged solely on my ability to achieve the outcomes desired by the employer. 

Recently I have been seeing a lot of articles discussing the discrimination that mothers feel when returning to the workforce. Apparently, questions are often raised by potential employers around support networks for children and potential for family related absences. 

I can't help but think that this is not only a way to (stupidly) reject some of the wonderfully talented women of this world, it speaks of a deeper, systemic flaw in the way we work.

You see, questions around support networks and absences from work actually miss the fundamental reason for (most) employment. We hire people to get jobs done - not to be in the office between 9am and 5pm; but to achieve certain tasks.

I personally couldn't care less about what hours my sales people work if they are hitting their sales targets. Nor about the hours my production staff work if their jobs are also being done and our customers are happy.

Why is it then, that employers are so concerned about a mother's ability to be present in the workplace?

I can't help but feel that this kind of discrimination actually stems from some employers' inability to specify achievable and measurable tasks for their employees outside of attending the office at certain times. If we can quantify the outcomes we need from our staff, do we really care where or when they achieve them?

Are we so entrenched in the 20th century office model that we can't possibly function without being in the same room? I highly doubt it.

In fact, more and more studies are showing that businesses who let their employees work from home and work flexible hours see an increase in productivity. This article in the Harvard Business Review shows a productivity increase of 13.5% in randomly selected CTIP staff who worked from home for 9 months!

So what then is the problem? Are we simply stuck with an outdated and outmoded business model where presence is more important than performance? If so, the women of the world will constantly be disadvantaged and our businesses and economy will suffer for it. 

Given the technological advances and communication tools that every business now has at their disposal, there is absolutely no reason to continue a business model that says

presence = performance.

Are we really willing to let half of our population be under-utilised because we can't clearly define our goals? The sooner that we as business owners and managers adopt a culture that values measurable performance over attendance, the better off we all will be.

Our business culture is broken and the time to fix it is now. To misquote the Six Million Dollar Man,

"We can rebuild it. We have the technology."

#heforshe