Disclaimer
The opinions expressed herein are my own personal opinions and do not represent anyone else's view in any way, including those of my employer.
© Copyright 2008
The opinions expressed herein are my own personal opinions and do not represent anyone else's view in any way, including those of my employer.
© Copyright 2008
Sometimes I sleep in. Other times I’m up at 3am. I work in pjs as much as I work in a suit and heels (ok, I don’t wear high-heels but you know what I mean). I’m an information worker, a web-citizen, a member of the digirati and I work where I want, when I want, and I get a whole lot done. I’ve never punched a time card or kept a time sheet but the folks I work with have no doubt that I work hard. How do they know? Results.
The increases in the information economy have spurred a lot of discussion about how best to manage people like me. People who work as well at home as in the car or in the office. Recently mega-store Best Buy instituted a new policy with their corporate employees. ROWE (Results Only Work Environment), a brilliant idea developed by Cali Ressler and Jody Thompson, encourages employees to work as they work best which means that there is less emphasis on “when” and “where” and a whole lot more on “what”. Employees are evaluated on what they get done, projects they complete, and their overall productiveness without the interference of attendance, meetings and other artificial metrics that really don’t tell us much about how well an employee contributes to a company’s overall goals.
Molly wrote more about ROWE here. Her assessment is right on. ROWE, and other ideas like it, are signs that corporate America is waking up to how work is really done and technology plays a huge role in this change. Folks like Next Generation Consulting have been preaching these changes for years (Go read Rebecca Ryan’s Live First, Work Second. Go! Go now!). Changes in the work place that respect that employees are people. Going to the bank when it’s open shouldn’t be a privilege. Going to the doctor shouldn’t require a vacation day. This seems to be common sense, humane behavior that we can all get behind but how do we make it really work?
Technology. That’s how!
If I’m available for phone calls while waiting at the BMV, if I can reply to an email while sitting at the airport, then I’m not really away from my desk. My desk isn’t a piece of wood with a chair, my desk is a collection of tools that I use to stay in touch with people and information. Yes, I know what you’re thinking. “Sarah, if you can work anywhere anytime then won’t you HAVE to work anywhere anytime?” And the answer is “Yes and No.” Just because I can doesn’t mean I have to. That’s the beauty of email, voicemail, IM etc. It’s still there waiting when you’re ready to respond. I can check email at my daughter’s dance recital but I don’t have to. If it’s an hour out of my traditional work day then I’ll more than make it up later in the day when the recital is over. Things will still get done.
So how do we make things change? How do we, the digirati, help the non-techy-you-must-be-at-your-desk-to-work folks feel a bit more comfortable with a new work force that doesn’t believe in desks? What do you think?
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ROWE is definitely the future of work. I have some friends that work at Best Buy and their lives have completely changed because of the ROWE mindset. And, their productivity is going through the roof. Cali and Jody actually have a book coming out in the spring called “Why Work Sucks and How to Fix It” – you can find more info on their site at http://www.caliandjody.com. These two are going to make things happen – I’ve got my eye on them!
I’m a big fan of the ROWE concept. Unfortunately, I work for a small, high-tech company that likes to see their employees in their seats. As the ONLY employee here with kids, I find it can be quite the struggle. I can’t see ROWE taking hold here. Even the basic concept of telecommuting has been a hard sell. The resistance is largely an issue of control. Meaning certain people have control issues and a need to micromanage. (Oops…have I said too much?)
Michele Martin at the Bamboo Project has written a lot on ROWE. You should connect with her.
http://michelemartin.typepad.com/thebambooprojectblog/rowe/index.html
Ah,this is my life. ROWE-d away from the academy several years ago because, hey, I *like* seeing my kids, spending time with them, being more than a passing acquaintance to my husband, *and* doing lots and lots of the kind of work that I most enjoy.
I’m not sure how to make others more comfortable with this other than by actually doing it. Truth is, more and more folks *are* doing it, even if they don’t have a name for it. As execs continue to get the full feel for their bberries and online office spaces, and see the value in being mobile themselves, their attitude of understanding and acceptance grows.
Biggest hurdles seem to be at the middle management levels, where desk time and face time are still very much valued, and where seemingly off-task behavior (commenting on a blog, for instance) isn’t much valued. There, it’s a little harder to make the case that the apparently off-task moves might actually be key to the growth of the worker, and the quality of the work, as well as to the overall health of the company (its ethos, and its narrative).
Recently, a friend punished his kid because the kid, while seeking online algebra tutoring, was also IMing friends. This dad wasn’t ready to hear the “that’s how he thinks and works best” argument, but that really *is* how the kid thinks and works best. Punish? No, leave him be. If the algebra is grasped, and the homework completed, life is good. So, we made that case even though dad wasn’t fond of it.
Really–cutting off the kid’s AIM access would have been akin to my mom insisting that I never, ever read until the wee hours. She wouldn’t have dreamed of it, and we shouldn’t either. This is literacy. This is learning. That’s the message to keep sending and sending.
ROWE, ROWE, ROWE–if the project at hand isn’t sinking, why not be merry and gentle about it?
I just like seeing my last name be the new efficiency buzz!
Seriously though, when I’m sitting at my desk in my classroom, I’m usually not getting anything useful accomplished. It’s when I’m up teaching, home working on lesson plans, making new contacts for gigs, etc. that I really feel like I’m being productive. I learn more from my Twitter sms stream during the day than I do from sitting in my room doing mindless paperwork.