We were about to reply to Terese Blanck’s comment to Telecommuting, Jealously and You, but then we thought our answer was worth its own post.

Terese wants to know:

“Does [ROWE] work for all types of personalities? Does the employee who is young and needs more direction still show results? Are there main personal traits that must be present in order for this to work such as self-directed, engaged and passionate about your work? Also, how does a receptionist feel who must be present at work…do you make some type of arrangement for this role as well?”

This questions points to what we feel is one of the most insidious aspects of the traditional workplace: the idea that control over your job is only for the select few. The traditional workplace teaches us that only some people (upper-level employees, employees with more seniority, employees who show the most can-do spirit) get the privilege to run their own lives. Everyone else needs to be put on a schedule, crammed in a cube, and watched over.

But you do not have to be special to be in a Results-Only Work Environment. You don’t have to be more focused or savvy or passionate or anything. It’s for everyone.

The reason is that a ROWE is not that different. You’re still going to work and doing your job. You still have meetings and solve problems and communicate with customers. None of that changes.

What changes is that if you want to go pick up some dry cleaning at 2 pm, you just go do it and don’t worry about it. You don’t have to announce it to your team or get permission, because you’re getting your work done and that’s all that matters. (The same goes for the receptionist. Someone covers for the receptionist now, when he or she is sick, or at lunch, or in a meeting. So it’s no different.)

In fact, as you continue to think about and explore the idea of a ROWE, we’d encourage you to think about how ordinary a Results-Only Work Environment is. It’s really just like the rest of your life. You know, those hours away from work when you actually get to be an adult.

The most e-mailed article (registration required) on the Times website right now is a must-read for anyone who wants a snapshot of how much upheaval there is in the global workforce.

The gist of it is that those two time-honored jobs (doctor and lawyer) don’t have the luster they once had. As the piece notes, “pay is still good (sometimes very good), and the in-laws aren’t exactly complaining” but there isn’t the same level of social status that there used to be.

“Especially among young people, professional status is now inextricably linked to ideas of flexibility and creativity, concepts alien to seemingly everyone but art students even a generation ago.”

The story goes on to talk about tech billionaires and investment bankers as the new cool, but we’d argue that you could take the money and status elements out of this story and it would still hold up. Flexibility, creativity, autonomy. This is what everyone wants from work.

It’s not because people are spoiled. Or have a short attention span. The reason is that control has become a form of currency. Freedom is a form of compensation. And when you look at what a grind both the legal and medical professions have become, it makes you shudder. People would rather have a life and we don’t blame them.

We were delighted to see this piece in Slate that talks about how the practice of law firms billing by the hour is coming under fire.

As the story notes in the opening of the second paragraph:

“For years, critics have argued that tracking the work day in six-minute intervals—the standard billing system used by big law firms—discourages creativity and efficiency.”

Amen. (And not just for lawyers.)

But what we found interesting is that it’s the client who is driving this change. It’s the client (and not lawyers searching for more work-life balance) who are finally getting sick of the waste and inefficiency of having knowledge work being tied to the clock. While the idea of a Results-Only Work Environment isn’t widespread enough yet for a company’s customers to start asking for ROWE, we can see this happening in the future.

The reason is that a ROWE allows a company to serve its customers far more intensely than a traditional work environment.

First, because people can choose to work at any time of the day, someone, somewhere in the company is always working. As a result, the entire company is more in tune with the global, 24/7 economy.

More importantly, because employees are rewarded based on results rather than filling hours, they are more innovative, more focused on solving problems, and more responsive. They have more incentive to complete their work quickly and efficiently because once their work is done, their time is their own.

So if you’re out there wanting ROWE for your organization, don’t stop there. You can also add the companyies you work with to your wish list for this exciting new way of working.

This was so exciting we almost forgot to post it: we recently appeared in Lisa Belkin’s “Life’s Work” column in The New York Times. She wanted our take on what the big bosses should resolve to do to make their workplaces better in 2008.

Here’s the link to the whole thing (subscription required).

Here’s the part that’s just about us:

“Cali Ressler and Jody Thompson also favor shaking up the workplace. In the last few years, they have polished a simple but revolutionary concept called Results-Only Work Environment (ROWE) based on the idea that workplaces operate best when employees come and go on their own schedules. Their approach is already in force at Best Buy, and they chronicle its effects in their blog, caliandjody.com.

When I asked for resolutions, they wrote a manifesto that a business leader might do well to sign: I, important C.E.O., resolve to stop saying things like “people are our most important asset” and start doing something about it.

I resolve to listen to what employees of all levels need to live their lives, and then not dismiss what they say because it makes me uncomfortable.

I resolve to stop thinking that people’s lives outside of work are at odds with their lives at work.

I resolve to start putting results first and the clock second.

Oh, and it wouldn’t hurt to get to the gym a little more often.”

Good advice, yes?