Don’t Settle For “Flexible”
November 19th, 2008 by Cali & Jody
This summer, when gas was $4 a gallon, a number of state governments turned to telecommuting and compressed work weeks as a way of reducing costs. Since then, we’ve been tracking the happenings in states like Utah, where we found this post about the economics of Utah’s 4-day workweek. (Thanks, Utah Economist!)
The Utah Economist puts the idea of non-traditional work cultures in terms of self-selection. He notes that different people have different preferences when it comes to work. Some warm to the idea of a compressed week, while others prefer 9-5.
He then says that “[t]he more general lesson for management is that employees are going to self-select to any workplace feature you offer. As a result, your employees are going to like any feature you offer much more than the average person likes that feature.”
But the problem with preference and compressed work weeks is that even if the larger marketplace offers a wider variety of choices, these choices are still based on old-fashioned ideas about time. One company may offer four 10-hour days, or the opportunity to work 7-4 instead of 8-5. But even if you slice it differently, it’s still the same 40-hour loaf we’ve been eating for the past 75 years.
In our minds, there’s really only one common sense choice that should be out there in the first place: schedule control. You set your own schedule based on the needs of your job, the task at hand, the results you are trying to drive. As long as you the work gets done, your time is as your own. Why? Because we’re all adults.
Who wouldn’t self-select to have power over their lives?
We think the answer is that most people would choose to have power over their lives if they knew that this was the choice they were making. Unfortunately, we’re so bound up in the old paradigm of flexibility that we can’t always see opportunities to have control.
But the ROWE List is growing. You may not have a ton of choices of where to work today, or tomorrow, or the next day, but someday we hope you’ll be able to shop for a job on your own terms. You’ll be able to self-select for your Self.
What is so hilarious is my district is dealing with a major financial disaster at the moment…who isn’t?…and in our last pay, the Superintendent included a letter…blah blah blahtty blah…but one thing he addressed was the concern of the district going to 4 day work weeks and how that has never been a consideration…
I ask, how could it not be? Now, I know it is not a ROWE, but maybe if the district implemented some sort of strategy to “allow” non-instructional staff to do that…the money which could be saved from utilities might be worth the consideration….
Every since the district hit these trying times…signs have been posted in bathrooms and directives mailed out urging staff to turn off lights when leaving a room, also to be sure to recycle, and they have lowered the temp. by two degrees in all buildings. Now, aside from temp. lowering, shouldn’t these types of conservation practices have already been in place? When the district becomes solvent again…is it back to lights on and windows open?
I want to be respected and treated like an adult and a professional level employee…
When I first read Why Work Sucks, I realized that the changes proposed had to start with each individual, ultimately, as it is a culture change. So, knowing that my company would never really accept this major change anytime soon, I have tried to apply what I can to my work and how I approach others in my department.
I have made a small change to increase the flexibility of myself and other members of the department. It is a small change, but it is one of the Guideposts, so I am trying to make it a small victory. I have stopped scheduling meetings for other team members. From now on, I only send email announcements informing them of the meeting specifics and let them decide if they need to schedule the meeting into their calendars. Since we have some redundancy in the department, the different teams can easily make sure there is representation if they choose to participate. That, to me, is a victory for all of us, if I can influence everyone to shift toward personal accountability for results.
The thing that ha always frustrated me most about wanting a ROWE is the first reaction that people have is usually that I am promoting something for myself. In reality, though, I want this for everyone because everyone benefits from it. People are afraid to try something like this in a tough economic downturn, but this is really the best time to do it. Having a ROWE makes you ‘lean’ because no time is wasted on things that don’t improve the bottom line. It also means that when the good times return, the ROWE company will be in a far better position to accomplish more than a company who still cares more about time than results.