Two Sides to the Work Flexibility Coin

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LinkedIn is buzzing about the recent post of Carly Martinetti , the co-founder of PR firm Notably, as she announced the organization would not be instituting a Return to Office policy.

Here it is:

There is plenty to cheer about and agree with in this post.? And as a remote leader of a largely remote team who has written, coached, trained, and spoken widely on leading and working remotely, you would think I would stand and applaud.

I’m clapping, but not standing, because there is one possible red flag in her well written post. And she mentions it twice:

No one cared about what hours I worked.? They looked at the quality of my work.

And again …

I don’t care how early or late you work – As long as you are on top of your responsibilities.

I don’t know Carly, and I while I believe she has wonderful intention here, there is a possible problem.

During the pandemic, I talked to thousands of people from around the world who were working remotely about their experience.? One prevalent thought from leaders was a sense of pleasant surprise that the work was still getting done. Some even talked about higher productivity!? Yet when I asked individuals (those leaders included) what they were doing with the time they used to spend commuting, over fifty percent were spending that time working.? When asked if they were accomplishing more, few could conclusively and quickly say yes.

In other words, they were spending more time to get the same work done.

Friends, this isn’t greater productivity, it is exactly the opposite.? And this isn’t painting a completely pretty picture of flexibility of working hours either.

If the nature of the work allows for people to be successful in working remotely, with less commute time and more overall flexibility, I am all for it (and, in Carly’s world of PR, that is very likely true). In fact, that is exactly how our team worked before the pandemic changed the working situation for so many.? But as leaders we must be careful about the messages we send and the expectations we set.

Work whenever you want as long as you meet your job responsibilities, is great as long as the responsibilities are reasonable, and people have the resources and skills to meet them. Work early or late is great, as long as we aren’t now expecting calls and meetings to meet other time zones far off of our norm.

I applaud Carly’s decision – and the similar decision many others are making.? But we as leaders must also recognize that we are creating new expectations about work as we do it.? Make sure your expectations line up with, and help your teammates succeed at work – while creating long term work/life balance too. As where, how, and when we work changes, so too are the stated and unspoken expectations of the work.? If we are doing the hard work of communicating and adjusting those as we pronounce a new world of work, we have a far better chance for long term success.

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Reflect and share in the comments:? What are your thoughts about the unstated implications about not returning to an office to work?

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Have a great week - links to the resources below will extend this article and support you in getting Remarkable Results.

You are Remarkable!

Kevin ??

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