Thanks to the reader who sent this through the Tell us why work sucks button:

Please be advised that the temperature in this office is set by me and ONLY by me. The thermostats are NOT TO BE TOUCHED - PERIOD. Should you find 21 degrees Celsius (standard room temperature) too chilly, put on additional clothing and speak to your manager.

ANYONE ADJUSTING THE THERMOSTAT WILL BE SANCTIONED WITH DISCIPLINARY ACTION

THIS WARNING WILL NOT BE REPEATED

Thank you for your co-operation.

After all veiled threats, controlling behavior and ALL-CAPS YELLING, we’re a little puzzled by the “thank you” at the end.  “Thank you” for amusing me by abiding by this insane rule?  “Thank you” for allowing me to think I can control everything that surrounds you - even the temperature of the air?  We’re a bit worried that the manager looks soft by thanking the readers of this memo, when clearly people need to know who’s boss.

We know there’s more crazy nonsense like this out there. Please send it to us. Stuff like this just makes us fight harder.

1. Listen for Sludge

At first, you’ll hear the obvious Sludge. You’ll hear the nasty comment from a coworker (”How nice of you to join us today!”) and you’ll recognize it as Sludge. The longer and more intently you listen for Sludge, the more you’ll start to hear all of the subtle Sludge that is all around you.

For example, let’s say you promise to get somebody something “by close of business today.” Is that Sludge?

It is. It’s not as demoralizing as the nasty comment, but the idea of “close of business” does just as much work reinforcing the status quo.

How can you have “close of business” in a 24/7 global economy? And why are you assuming that the person you’re delivering the goods to will be “at work” at that time? And what if by turning it in at midnight you would do a better job? Shouldn’t that be on the table?

The point is that even if you feel like you understand Sludge now, there is always more you can learn. A big part of making ROWE the future is deepening your knowledge about what is holding us back now.

2. Stop Sludging

Just as you’ll get more sophisticated in hearing Sludge, you will start to hear nuances in your own language. As your knowledge of the ins and outs of the traditional work environment become more sophisticated, you can continue to work on eliminating Sludge from your own daily speech.

3. Be forgiving of other people’s Sludge

The culture is changing, but it’s not going to happen overnight. One of the great things about adopting a ROWE mindset is that it frees you from the stress and guilt of the traditional work environment.

The downside of having a ROWE mindset is that you might start hearing Sludge everywhere and all the time, and find yourself wishing that more people thought like you. Be patient. If people keep standing up for results, this change will come, even if everyone doesn’t arrive at exactly the same time.

Have we mentioned that we’re very pleased about how our book turned out?

Well, we are pleased, especially with the stories that bookend the chapters. These “Voices from a ROWE” really make the book, because it’s not just what we say and think about ROWE, but what real people have experienced with ROWE.

Just check out this excerpt from Ami’s section:

A ROWE gives everyone the power to question value. It doesn’t take long for you to realize how strange it is that we weren’t going this before. Why weren’t we constantly questioning before? You have ten people in a meeting but only two people talking back and forth. Why am I here? Because I received an invitation. Outlook has ruined productivity. It’s just a joke. So what if someone is quadruple booked? You used to think that person was important. But now you look at that person and wonder what kind of value they could possibly be adding?

Now we’re in different places working at different times so communication sharpens. You get clearer about expectations and deadlines. And you are constantly figuring out the best way to work with one another, which is funny because you think you’re doing that already, but you’re not. That’s the paradox of ROWE. You used to think that we all have to get together to get this work done. Now maybe the answer is that we have to all separate to get things done. Then when we are together it’s strategic instead of assumed. It’s purposeful.

You see, friends, we’re not the only ones who are crazy about ROWE.

Those of you that have read the book, which “Voice from a ROWE” was your favorite? 

There’s nothing even remotely official yet, but we thought you’d like to know that we’re talking to a number of producers about bringing the drama of the Results-Only Work Environment to TV viewers everywhere.

Did we say drama?

Yes, we did.

Life gets easier once a team has migrated from a traditional work environment to a Results-Only Work Environment. When you eradicate Sludge and start focusing on results, people have an easier time at work. The tasks can still be challenging, but the work culture helps you solve problems instead of compounding them with nonsense.

That said, getting from a traditional work environment to a ROWE would make for some great TV. Here’s why:

1. People will fight to the death defending their beliefs, even if those beliefs don’t serve their best interests

We see this a lot. Leaders, managers, and rank-and-file employees get all red and hot resisting ROWE. We can’t let our people just do whatever they want! It’ll be anarchy!

2. People get incredibly emotional

It’s not unusual for people to tear up or break down in a migration session. Managers realize they’ve been treating their employees like dirt. Employees realize they’ve been wasting their lives stuck in a cube, and for what?

3. People undergo intense personal transformations

That hardcore, drill-sergeant manager turns into the most supportive work partner you’ve ever seen. The meek employee stands up to her boss when he gives her unnecessary work. The kind of boring coworker . . . well, he’s still kind of boring, but he’s got hobbies now and he’s getting more interesting!

4. Work gets done like never before

Okay, this last one wouldn’t make for good TV, but it does make for good business.

Stay tuned . . . .

We previously wrote about the Toyota engineer who allegedly died from overwork. (In Japan, the phenomenon is called karoshi.) A Japanese labor bureau has recently ruled that excessive overtime was indeed the cause of his death and that his family is now eligible to collect benefits from his work insurance. This is still an incredibly sad story, but we’re heartened to learn that the engineer’s case was taken seriously.

We could easily see a case like his not being taken seriously, because in many cultures there is a core assumption about work:

WORK = SUFFERING

If work weren’t suffering . . .

why else would we praise people for their “dedication” and their “sacrifice”?

why else would we complain so loudly (and elaborately) about how many hours we put in?

why else would it be socially acceptable for (some of) our bosses to treat us as less than human?

In other words, we assume that part of our pay is compensation for the misery inflicted by work. Even that word “compensation” suggests loss. The loss of freedom. The loss of time. The loss of autonomy. We’re sorry you had to waste 50 hours of your life in this place this week. We know we can never truly pay you back for your time, but we hope this check provides some compensation for your loss.

We also assume that we’ll get credit for the pain. It’s not whoever does the best job wins, but whoever does a decent job while enduring the most pain.

Is this really the best we can do?

What happens if we didn’t assume that work is suffering? What if work wasn’t something to be endured but something to get done in exchange for money? Would people still die from overwork if there was no nobility in killing yourself over your job?

There’s a little buttony, widgety thingy over to the right that says “Tell us why work sucks.” (It’s right above the RSS buttony, widgety thingy.)

Many of you have been clicking on it and telling us your stories. Thank you! We can’t solve the problem of work unless we’re all talking about it as a problem. Please keep writing and venting and sharing.

Here are three stories that we hope inspire you to tell us yours.

Work sucks because . . .

I’m micromanaged, work for someone who is completely anal, controlling and swears at his employees on a weekly basis. Everyone of my co-workers, except the “boys club”, feels sick to their stomaches to come into the office everyday, unless our boss is gone. We are all afraid of making mistakes…and that right there leads to numerous mistakes being made. We over-analyze everything because we are always second guessing ourselves. I call it the 50/50 rule; you have a 50% chance of doing something right but chances are its going to wrong!

**

Work sucks because . . .

When clients need my help, I’m asked to search the internet for a book because someone else is too important to that for themselves.

***

Work sucks because . . .

I work for a large university with over 45,000 employees. You’d think there might be some open mindedness, right? I draft benefit plan documents, employee newsletters, respond to high level employee complaints. I spend over an hour driving 60 miles round trip to work. I have discussed the possibility of telecommuting with my manager. Oh no, no, no. He even has issues with requests to work from home when I need a repairman over or weather conditions are inclement.

Why? He cannot be assured my home “work space” is safe and there are liability issues. What if I fell and broke my arm at home while on “company” time? He is more comfortable when I am available on the spot if he needs me (I’ve seen him twice this week for a max of 3 minutes).

And, he really cannot monitor my productivity if I am not there.

I write for crying out loud! What is not measurable?

Work sucks.  Or at least the way we work sucks.  Sometimes the best solace is griping over it at happy hour.

It’s good to rant about this stuff every once in awhile - and we’d like to rant with you!  Can we tag along, Twin Cities?  Of course we can’t hit every happy hour, but maybe we can crash yours.  

Tell us when your next happy hour is happening - date/time/place - and tell us why your gathering is the best one for us to crash.

Can’t wait to hear from you at caliandjody@caliandjody.com.

P.S. For now, we’ll be crashing Twin Cities’ happy hours.  Watch for future posts for when we’ll be in your city and we’ll drop by…

British meat company Brown Brothers recently (and rightfully) caught flak for their “Dickensian” bathroom break policy. The company required that workers clock out, and then take off their boots, overalls and hairnets before going to the toilet.

Union leaders complained this amounted to having workers lose pay in order to use the loo. The company countered that they had an incentive plan where more money was awarded to people who could go to the bathroom at preferred times.

I don’t think you need us to give the Results-Only Work Environment take on why Brown Brothers’ policy is boneheaded. You don’t need to use the ROWE mindset to know that it’s unfair (not to mention unwise) to micromanage your employees’ bladders.

But we aren’t galled by the policy. (We’ve heard so many evil, controlling workplace policies that it takes a lot to shock us.) What amazes us is that Brown Brothers didn’t think anyone would find out.

One of the factors working in favor of people who care about work-life balance issues is the increasing transparency of the working world:

If you do something stupid, shortsighted and cruel, then the world is going to find out.

If you do something smart, forward-thinking and generous, then the world is going to find out.

We hope that every HR manager and business leader within the sound of this blog takes these simple ideas to heart. The next time you revisit the employee handbook, ask yourself if you want to be the kind of company that ends up in somebody’s blog for contributing to making work suck. Or if you’d rather be known for doing it right.

Our mouths pretty much dropped when a friend sent us a copy of a “Guide to Hiring Women” from a 1943 issue of Mass Transportation magazine. We thought it must be a hoax, but Snopes bore out that it’s oh so real. Here are some of our favorite moments:

“[P]ick young married women . . . they usually have more of a sense of responsibility; they’re less likely to be flirtatious.”

“[Husky] girls — those who are just a little on the heavy side — are more likely to be even-tempered and efficient than their underweight sisters.”

“Retain a physician to give each woman you hire a special physical examination — one covering female conditions.”

We offer this tidbit not out of a sense of superiority at how advanced and modern we are compared to the Neanderthals of yesterday, but out of a sense of hope. We offer this article because when we talk about a Results-Only Work Environment, there are people out there who immediately counter by saying, “Things will never change.”

Of course things change. What seemed like an impossibility in 1943 (women being treated like adult humans) is a given today.

(Before you write that “but things also stay the same” post in the comments, realize that we know that women still face discrimination and bias in the workplace. We’re not saying it’s a perfect world, just a better one.)

One of the reasons why ROWE works is because it is more in line with the business realities of the 24/7 global marketplace. ROWE is also more accommodating to employees’ “always on” lives. In forty years, the way we defend the traditional work environment is going to look as silly as that Mass Transportation article.

To all the doubters out there, we ask this:

Wouldn’t you rather have tomorrow today?

Oh - and we’ve picked a winner for the “Create Your Own ROWE Revolution” contest.  It’s Jeff with the following response to why he needs ROWE:

“Because please, for the love of God, I just want to do my damn job.”

‘Nuff said on that one - good enough reason for us.  Jeff’s boss will be receiving a copy of the book very soon…

We were joined on our virtual book tour yesterday by three amazing guests - Tim Ferriss, David Allen, and Melanie Benson Strick.

As always, there was passionate, engaging conversation about ROWE, the book, and the need to shift our paradigms about work.

The link to the streaming audio is here: http://www.snipurl.com/caliandjody3

The downloadable file can be found here: http://www.authorteleseminars.com/audio/whyworksucks3

And, for those of you that would like the audio from our previous calls (with the likes of Dan Pink, Michael Port, and Scott Stratten), click here: http://www.whyworksucksbooktour.com

Enjoy!