In today’s hypercompetitive marketplace, there is a war for talent. Everyone has their own preferences and ideas about how work should be completed. We’ve seen the rise of the Gig Economy, with many looking to go out on their own in search of what’s next or starting up a side hustle. For some, building something on their own or creating a separate income stream is because of some entrepreneurial spirit that lies deep within. For others, there’s been an increased desire for more flexible work. Many people desire the ability to control when, where, and how they work to be most successful and, more importantly, happy. For many people, they desire more flexible work.
Gone Should Be The Days
Being tied to an office, expected to work during specific hours is so old school. Don’t get me wrong; there are jobs out there where people are needed at times and in specific locations. Service jobs instantly come to mind, for instance. If you have customers that need to be supported, you need to have people ready, willing, and able to provide service. For those working in the office or corporate world, I would argue there’s less of a need to be trapped in cubicles, awaiting an exit at the end of the day. I believe a flexible work culture doesn’t trap employees.
Flexible Work – Work When You Want
We are all different in terms of our preferences, energy-levels, personalities, and sleep cycles. Grouping everyone into a 9-5 workday might be easier, but it lacks an evolved sense of management planning. Some people are early risers who are most productive in the early AM. Others need more sleep or are not morning people, preferring to work later into the afternoon or evening. There are nighthawks out there who prefer to work overnight.
Through conversations with their employees, leaders need to understand employees’ preferences to determine when someone works best. Some employees have other commitments, family, or personal, that they would appreciate the opportunity to do sometimes, instead of being tied to the prison of a strict set of hours. If there are trust and commitment from both sides, trialing a modified schedule could effectively drive engagement and improve overall performance. Also, if COVID19 has taught us anything, lots of flexibility can be afforded to many industries and roles.
Let’s Be Honest
The 40-hour workweek is outdated. In most businesses, employees and leaders are not working 40 hours. Some of you might say they are working more than 40 hours. But suppose you genuinely pull back the onion and look deeper. In that case, you’ll find from a productivity perspective, many people are working less. Regardless of pay, whether someone is paid hourly or salary, I would argue that 85% or more employees are not fully working their allotted hours each week. Do you know why I know this? It’s because it’s not possible or sustainable.
With useless meetings, constant interruptions and distractions, and mindless busy-work that doesn’t provide value, people only actually work for a percentage of time that’s allocated. Suppose you think about it from the Pareto Principle perspective. In that case, most likely, 80% of one’s output results from 20% of their effort. If you have a deadline and focus intently to complete a project, most of you will succeed. Some projects and tasks don’t need to take as long as they do. Essentially, I am saying that 20% of your time matters most.
Work How You Want
How someone works makes a massive difference in how productive they will be. Check out one of my previous posts about Working Smarter, Not Harder, for ways to become more productive, or visit my other site, for more tips. Some of the tips shared there help with creating a flexible work culture.
Leaders need to know what drives their employees to harness their potential so they can be successful. Maybe someone needs to work with music to complete certain types of tasks? Some might need to put self-imposed deadlines on themselves or have others within proximity to consult on individual projects.
Organizations and leaders are sometimes too prescriptive, asking others to accomplish tasks in specific ways. Best practices don’t work everywhere. Doing so fails to give others the flexibility to work as effectively as they want. Flexible work is about letting people achieve results in ways that are optimal for them. If, after reviewing the work and determining that the quality, quantity, or process isn’t adequate, then it’s time for leaders to step in and coach on ways to improve. However, since I am a big believer in hiring great people and getting out of their way to let them produce results, I advocate letting people choose what makes sense.
Work Where You Want
With continued improvements in technology, more and more organizations are letting people work remotely. Many companies and industries around the world were forced into doing so due to recent worldwide events. And you know what, it’s shifting opinions on remote work.
Unfortunately, some companies haven’t successfully figured it out yet, wanting to trap people in the prison office whenever normal returns because they don’t know any different. Meetings are often the biggest reason why many are stuck chained to the idea of working onsite. The effectiveness of such meetings is, of course, always a source of debate. Look at any leader’s calendar. They could eliminate at least half the meetings on their calendar each week or significantly shrink the time allocated. Do all sessions need to be in person? Nope. Eliminate useless meetings, and instantly everyone gains more time back.
So my argument here is that creating a flexible work culture should see more people choosing to work from home or wherever they want. I don’t care whether someone works in their pajamas at their kitchen table, on a beach somewhere, or in the office. If someone can have a reliable internet connection and accomplish everything they are tasked with, working remotely should always be an option. Now, not everyone likes to work remotely, and that’s ok too. The key is that there are options for people to choose for themselves how and where they want to work.
Hours vs. Task Accomplishments & Flexible Work
Unfortunately, executives and senior leaders are out-of-touch with today’s marketplace that think people need to work harder. Often that means, work longer hours. Some companies cite work-life balance as the key to their culture, but behind closed doors complain when they see the parking lots emptying after 8 hours on the job. I would argue that instead of tracking performance against time served (yes, another prison reference), leaders should care more about tasks completed – the results.
One can put in an 8-hour day and do nothing of value. One could also work incredibly focused and hard for 4 hours and accomplish more than they would have done otherwise. It all comes down to priorities and behaviors one wants to reward. Organizations need to give people the autonomy to complete their tasks and end their day as they see fit. If they did, overall employee engagement and productivity would skyrocket.
Everything will balance out too. There will be days when someone needs to put in additional time to complete something, whereas, on other days, they won’t. Reward successfully completing tasks and other accomplishments instead of putting in the time. When companies embrace this line of thinking, it will allow employees to choose not only when they work but also where they might live.
Final Thoughts About Flexible Work
Flexible work is the dream for many employees (and leaders). Feeling in control of when, how, and where you work is what most people want. No one likes someone else dictating how they should live their lives, but organizations and old structures do so all the time. It’s time for an evolved sense of managing the workforce. More flexible employers create a culture of performance that people want to invest their time and energy into, instead of just watching the clock. The more flexible, the better the Employee Experience too. Working in an environment where people want to work and show up versus feeling the need to show up will lead to many other positive benefits.
With clear goals, the removal of waste, and ineffective meetings, a 40-hour workweek doesn’t need to exist for salaried employees anymore. Reward performers by showing them that you trust them to accomplish tasks in ways that work best for them and the company.
