Trading office space for head space – 5 tips from a CEO

Here’s the thing. I used to freak out at the thought of people working outside of the office. For years, my absolute, inbuilt belief was that if my team weren’t at their desks, they simply weren’t being productive.

For the first 17 years of running a global multimedia operation with presence in 37 countries and various other revenue streams, I did it all from a big office space in the hip suburb of Surry Hills in Sydney. I was paying exorbitant fixed costs like rent, utilities, and fit-out, while operating on the blind belief that the best staff on the planet might be located within a 20km radius of my office. 

Then one day, my Deputy Editor asked if she could go travelling for four months while continuing to work on the same salary. As CEO, I had a near-conniption. But she was one of my most trusted employees so, rather than lose her, I sucked up my ego and gave her my blessing. What came as a surprise then, was that the work she produced was just as good, if not better, than what she had delivered from the office.

That got me thinking: while in the office I was busy, on the road I was productive. Instead of spending my time in our office reacting and putting out fires, working remotely allowed me to focus on strategy, vision and actually getting things done. When my Deputy Editor returned and asked if she could move to Kiama – two and a half hours drive from Sydney – I not only agreed, I promoted her to Editor.

This was the start of a magical, decentralised journey that resulted in a motivated team, more revenue, certainly more profit, and a far more productive company. We only meet when it’s important. We stay in our lane and know what we need to get done. We’re not in the office looking over one another’s shoulders, getting involved in things that we really have no business in, and we’re all on the same page. I couldn’t be happier, and neither could my team.

So, here are five steps I hope will help you and your teams stay productive and work with purpose.

1. Have the right equipment for you and your team. No, this doesn’t mean cramming every corner of your home with gear. I manage to run my entire businesses with little more than my HP Elite Dragonfly and smartphone. Beyond that, and a quiet, safe space to work, there are just three things you need: rituals, routines and discipline.
2. Start the day as if you were going into the office. If you would normally get up and go to the gym, do yoga or make a smoothie, continue to do that ritualistically and at the same time every day.
3. Start the workday with a daily huddle. This will reaffirm your team’s cohesion. Encourage regular check-ins throughout the day (I list a few of my top tech and tools in my previous post).
4. Structure your day as if you were in the office. Block out chunks of time in your diary for regular tasks and don’t deviate, as tempting as it is to get up and open the fridge 11 times an hour! Also, work when you are most productive. This is the beauty of making it more about output than time spent with bums on seats.
5. Help your team set boundaries at home. Encourage them to communicate to anyone else at home that this is ‘work time’ to maintain structure and clear boundaries. This also means reminding staff to take regular breaks and prioritise their physical and mental health.

If you, like me, love reading about the latest trends in the workforce, The Economist (in partnership with HP) has launched a new online hub brimming with podcasts, research and insights on everything from working from home to AI: https://futureworkforce.economist.com/