We’re heading to Memphis to speak to the TN SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management) group, and we’re dreading one thing: the early flight.  Neither of us are what you would call “morning people” and a 7:00 a.m. flight makes us downright crabby.  We’ll be sleeping on the plane and looking to grab a quick siesta when we get to the hotel, before grabbing dinner with the conference chair.  Lucky for us, we’re not sleep deprived.

But lack of sleep is getting to be more and more of a problem, especially for people’s health.  As this recent NYT’s article states: “…the attitude toward sleep in America - and in American business, in particular - has scarcely changed.  Corporate culture reveres the e-mail message sent at 3 a.m., the executive who rushes directly into a meeting from a red-eye flight.”  Well, if health concerns didn’t do the trick in getting businesses to realize how important sleep is, maybe the study at the heart of the NYT’s article will.  It finds that sleep helps us make connections between ideas - gives some truth to the old saying “Let me sleep on it.”

The article then goes on to talk about companies that have placed Energy Pods in their environments for naps and quick rests.  We cringed at the Pods.  Now that we might be making some headway on realizing how important sleep is, we’re going to encourage people to sleep at the office?  Because that’s where you’ll be most relaxed?

One of the findings we’re most proud of from the University of MN/National Institutes of Health study on ROWE at Best Buy is that ROWE employees get more sleep, and experience better quality sleep, than non-ROWE employees.  Given the Harvard study, guess it makes sense then that creativity on ROWE teams is a notch up from what it was pre-ROWE.

So we have to ask: If you had an Energy Pod in your office environment, would you use it?  And, if you do have them where you work, does anybody use them?

What can cost U.S. companies $10.5 billion in productivity by the end of January?  An awful, deadly disease that will wipe out half our population in the next 4 months?  No, apparently it’s Fantasy Football.  Yes, this is just like the claims made about March Madness - when “office time” is spent on these activities instead of on work, the clock is tick-tocking away and productivity is being lost.  According to the studies, that is.

What we do find somewhat promising in this article (one of the many that covers the bring-down-the-business practice of Fantasy Football) is that it ends with a quote about more managers starting to use a measurement of productivity rather than time.  Perhaps this is the last NFL season we’ll have to endure these ridiculous numbers being thrown around.

Before this weekend’s games, we thought we’d provide some analogies between ROWE and Fantasy Football for those of you that get into that kind of thing (and if you don’t, then do not read this or you’ll be adding to that $10.5 billion in lost productivity and we can’t have that!):

• The way we feel about some meetings in the work environment is similar to how we feel about our tight ends.  They’re meaningless and not worth any of our time.
• Some leagues are Keeper Leagues and others are Dynasty Leagues, where you get to keep your entire roster for the next year. Managers often choose to go ROWE because they want to keep their Dynasty Team year after year - ROWE will secure it for you.
• When someone is out with an injury for the week at the RB position, you have another RB that you can plug right in.  He’s a backup and your whole team doesn’t fall apart.  You’re covered for that position and you get a few points.  [Now if you were the one in your league that had Brady go down this year, your whole team might have fallen apart, but that’s an anomaly!)  Backups in a ROWE are similar - it’s not your top-notch player in the role all the time, but backups keep the team moving.
• Trading players is just like ROWE.  You’re scanning the NFL environment and making decisions about who to move around to reach your outcome of winning the league.  You find players that you think will provide more value to your team and you swap out the waste.  Employees in a ROWE are always making trades - making sure what’s on their plates is truly needed to get to an outcome.
• The “sleeper” on your Fantasy team performs better than you ever thought he would.  The “sleeper” on your work team needs control over his/her time to really shine - they’re stifled in the current environment and they’re meeting expectations - but once they’re set free, they will amaze you.

Good luck to all of you Fantasy players this weekend, and let’s hope ROWE has moved far enough by next fall that we don’t have companies worried about how much time their employees spend on their teams between 8:00 and 5:00.  After all, are we more worried about the Fantasy game or the real work?

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Contest announcement: Thanks to those of you that sent in your most non-ROWE policies. We found ourselves gritting our teeth when we read them, and thought Kurt’s policy on Extra Hours and Overtime was the most painful.  Congrats, Kurt - a signed copy of Why Work Sucks and a Work Sucks bumper magnet are on the way to you!

It won’t surprise you to know that one of our favorite commercials of all time is When I Grow Up.  We have a few additions for the next version:

• When I grow up, I want to be shamed for taking an hour and 20-minute lunch.
• When I grow up, I want to sit in traffic for 2 hours every day to go to my gray cube of happiness.
• When I grow up, I want my boss to tell me when it’s okay for me to spend time with my family.
• When I grow up, I want everyone to stare at me and shake their heads when I get into the office at 8:45.
• When I grow up, I want to ask permission to go to the doctor.

How did we get to this place where we have little to no control over these things?  How did we get to this place where we have no say over how we spend our time from 8:00 to 5:00?

There’s a problem with the demands/control equation in our lives.

Your demands include anything that requires your time - your job, your hobbies, your errands, your kids, your friends, etc.  And people’s demands are growing by leaps and bounds.  Here’s the thing: In a traditional office environment, where you have high demands and low control, life is hectic and miserable.  You’re trapped in a system that piles on the demands but denies you the control to meet those demands.  In a ROWE, there are still high demands, but there is also high control.  Life is hectic but manageable. We’ve heard the following comments from ROWE employees:

• “It makes a big difference to be on the phone with the doctor scheduling an appointment and just be able to take the first time they offer, instead of trying in vain to find something before 8:30 or after 4:30.”
• “My sister is flying into town tomorrow and she asked me if I could pick her up at the airport at 1:30.  I was able to say “yes” without even thinking because I have that ability now.”
• “My husband called to see if I could have lunch and we did.  I never once looked at my watch - I was able to just enjoy our time together without feeling stressed out about being back to the office in an hour.”
• “I do all my grocery shopping on Wednesday mornings now - and no one’s there!  I zoom up and down the aisles and don’t have to worry about pushing through all the carts on a Saturday or Sunday.”
• “I can finally show my son what it’s like to live spontaneously and make a living at the same time.  We can do fun things anytime, not just on weekends - and that’s how life should be.”
• “I used to never feel like I could take part in [my local community organization] because I never knew when I’d get the time off to do my part.  Now I’m able to contribute all the time and that makes me feel more human.”

High demands, high control - that’s what it’s all about.

Which area of your life do you feel the most demands on your time and the least amount of control on managing that time?

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Event news: CultureRx will be speaking about ROWE at an event hosted by FlexWork Connection, Career Partners and YourOnRamp on Oct. 16.  The event will be held at UC Irving: The Merage School of Business.  Get more information and register here.

We need to make a statement: Right now, on Sept. 22, 2008, we have perfected ROWE for office environments.  Big, small, mid-sized - if you’re in an office, the process for migrating to a ROWE has been proven and is ready for you.  We have not experimented in any other environments yet (research into the health care industry begins in 2009 - stay tuned).

We presented at the Twin Cities HR Executive Forum last week.  The group was lively and very fun (could have been that they were eating hors d’oeuvres and sipping wine during the presentation).  When it came time for Q&A, the most popular ROWE question revealed itself as Question #1 for the 23,456th time: “It sounds like ROWE would be great for offices, but have you done this yet for store environments?”

For the previous 23,455 times, insert any of the following for “store environments”: manufacturing, hospitals, bus drivers, teachers, zoos, sports associations, freight services, broadcasting, pilots and flight attendants, or restaurants.

In fact, we began a recent speaking engagement by specifically saying that we have not experimented with ROWE outside the office setting.  What was the first question?  “So how does ROWE work in a manufacturing setting?”

We recognize that there are other environments that suck just as much as offices.  It is our strong belief that there are foundational elements of the office ROWE that can translate into other environments - trust, schedule control, and elimination of Sludge are a few.  And just because we haven’t tested ROWE in those environments doesn’t mean you can’t try some of these things…if you’re read Why Work Sucks and you have ideas for how to improve your manufacturing or retail environment, for example, go for it.  We’d love to hear about it - and so would other readers in your industry!

Now for the contest: This is a call for the most insanely non-ROWE policy you can find in your Employee Handbook.  Policies like these (taken from a Fortune 1000 medical diagnostics company):

1. Hours of Work - The Company’s normal workweek is Monday through Friday.  Work days are eight hours each.  Nonstandard workweeks exist for some positions and departments.
2. Rest Periods - There are two scheduled ten-minute rest periods during each eight-hour work shift - the first approximately two hours after the beginning of the shift and the second approximately two hours after the lunch period.  Your supervisor will inform you about the rest period schedule in your area.

Post your policy in the Comments and the winner will receive a signed copy of Why Work Sucks and a Work Sucks bumper magnet.  Go for it - wipe the dust off that Handbook and start searching!

We promised things would get better for Tim and Kara, and they do.

In our fantasy world, all of you that have read Why Work Sucks would give it to your managers, and they would read it and immediately fall in love with ROWE.  It’s good to have fantasies, right?

Tim’s story is an example of the reality that some, or many of you, may be facing.  You’ll see in today’s videos that Tim ended up reaching a point where he talked about ROWE with his manager and CFO, and stated that he needed to be evaluated on his results, not the amount of face-time he put in at the office.  Tim’s higher-ups responded with “ROWE is a great idea, but it won’t work here.”  Despite this, things have become better for Tim since he voiced his unhappiness and talked about the kind of work environment he needed.  He does think that management heard what he said, and although they won’t become a full-fledged ROWE, he’s happy he stood up to the status quo.

Kara, too, is happy - she has her husband back.  The kids have their father back.  After reading Why Work Sucks, Tim made the decision to draw the line on what he’ll accept in a work environment and what he will reject.

Ultimately, ROWE starts with you.  It takes a lot of courage to do what Tim did, and it’s a decision we all have to make…continue to be eaten alive by the status quo or stand up for a better way.

Video #1: Tim stands up

Video #2: Tim’s words of inspiration

Video #3: Kara sees change

This installment of “People on the Street” involves a husband and wife: Tim and Kara.  We’ve learned from experience that when someone thinks their work sucks, it doesn’t just affect them - it affects people around them, too.  With that in mind, in this post, you’ll hear Tim’s account of his entry into a new work environment and how the focus on time progressively became too much to handle.  You’ll also hear Kara’s account of what she was witnessing as Tim became more and more dissatisfied.

In Part 2 on Friday, you’ll hear how reading Why Work Sucks affected Tim and Kara’s life and the life of their family.

Video #1: Tim’s new job

[About five months ago, Tim got a new job.  Shortly after entering the work environment, he was reprimanded for coming in 2 minutes "late" and leaving 2 minutes "early". He was also "checked on" by his boss no less than 12 times a day.  And the stress level began to rise...]

Video #2: Tim: My work sucks

[Tim went to HR to express his unhappiness and was told to go back to the grind.  He continued to be reprimanded for how he used his time - to the point of feeling guilty about going to the bathroom.]

Video #3: Kara’s view of Tim

[Immediately after the new job started, Kara noticed that the Tim she knew was slipping away.  He was withdrawn, crabby, cold, and short-tempered.]

When you’re in a less than stellar work situation, how do your relatives/friends perceive you?  Or, if you have a relative or friend in a stressful work situation, how have you seen them change?

It gets better for Tim and Kara - we promise.  Stay tuned for Part 2…

First, thanks to ABC News for the helpful tips found in What to Do When You’re Out of Sick Days. We will do our best to not shake hands, avoid contact with co-workers and wash, wash, wash.

But is it enough? We don’t think so. Here are some ideas for staying healthy (and employed) during cold & flu season.

Train for it

In an uncertain, hyper-competitive economy, you can’t afford to get sick. Ever. That’s why you need to dedicate your life to staying in top physical condition. Pound the vitamins, get plenty of rest, cut down on the sugar, and work out like an Olympic athlete. You won’t have much of a life, but you’re more likely to have a job.

Invest in protective gear

A quality biohazard suit will not set you back financially as much you might think. We like the service and selection at ApprovedGasMasks.com. Also, if multiple people at the office are already sick, set up a Team-building Quarantine Zone. Isolating cross-functional sick people is a great way to get things done.

Use performance-enhancing drugs

There are going to be days when you’re simply too ill to move. While we’re not advocating illegal drug use, there are a number of over-the-counter (not to mention herbal) solutions to tiredness, fatigue, nausea, heavy sweating, labored breathing, seeing spots, and mental incoherence. Find the right cocktail for you and get yourself back in the game.

Automatically assume your vacation days will be used as sick days

You didn’t have plans for that time anyway, right?

Don’t ask questions

Even if your company’s sick policy is outdated, unrealistic and inhumane, you’re not doing yourself any favors by questioning the status quo. Bottom line: it’s just as important to appear that you’re working as it is to actually get things done. Keep your head down, power through, and look busy. You can look forward to feeling good when you retire.

We recently did a keynote address at an event sponsored by Ideation Consulting and the Twin Cities Human Resource Association.  We love talking about ROWE and encouraging people to get on board.  Following the event, we spoke to several attendees who had ideas about which leaders they were going to talk to in their organizations to bring ROWE in-house.  Unfortunately, we know from experience, their excitement about ROWE often gets shot down by management as soon as they return.

Here are some of the mistakes leaders make when their employees approach them about what they’ve learned about ROWE:

1. They assume that ROWE is a squishy HR program that’s not good for business.  Might sound like: “This sounds like something that will take a lot of work and we just don’t have the bandwidth to look into it now.”
2. They become defensive about the current environment, which they’ve worked hard to reinforce.  Might sound like: “We’re very flexible here.  I let people go to doctor and dentist appointments when they need to, and if anyone needs to come in later or leave earlier, they just need to clear it with me.  I don’t see how ROWE is any different.”
3. They may immediately equate ROWE with complete chaos and make it clear that the conversation will go no further.  Might sound like: “That kind of thing works somewhere like Best Buy, but it wouldn’t work here.  We have critical customer needs and 85% of our corporate office population works in a matrix organization.  ROWE isn’t for us.”
4. Sometimes, they laugh or show complete indifference.  Might sound like: “I heard about that program and it doesn’t work (chuckle).  It’s being touted as something much greater than it is.”

Tell us: What kinds of responses are you getting?  Are you motivated by what you’re hearing or do you feel stalled?  What are your leaders’ main objections?

Here are more thoughts from one of our Why Work Sucks readers, Jessica Heiken…

C&J: What is the most common piece of Sludge that you hear where you work?

Jessica: The most common forms of Sludge I hear are comments about work hours.  “Just getting in?” and “Leaving already?” and gossip about “so-and-so is working from home again.  She’s so lucky.  I wish I could slack off like that.”  The other thing I see as a form of Sludge is that ROWE does exist in my company, but only for certain people.  As I said before, the leaders of my company are judged on their results and no one questions where they are or what they’re doing.  They live the ROWE life.  The Sludge of this situation is that the freedom to decide how, where, when best to get your work done is a privilege for a certain caliber of person.  It is certainly not for the masses.

C&J: We often use the analogy that ROWE is like college, and you’ve said the same thing.  Talk to us more about what this means to you.

Jessica: I was the boss of my whole life in college, not just parts of it.  Life was much less compartmentalized then; my roles as student, employee, volunteer, and friend didn’t start and stop as rigidly as they do now.  Study time could also be social time, night time could be work time, errands could be run when stores were least busy, and work was filled into the empty spaces.  Life feels much harder to balance now because I only have ownership over half my time.

C&J: As you know, we need people to take action for ROWE to become the status quo.  What are you doing to help promote ROWE as the new game for living and working?

Jessica: I’m a sales person, so I’m always selling ideas that I love.  I have shared the book and the idea of ROWE with everyone who will listen.  My boss, my HR generalist, peers, friends, family.  When the book first came out, I spent a few hours interrogating a good friend that works at Best Buy and has worked on a ROWE team for several years to find out what it’s really like, and to find out if it lives up to the hype.  It does, she assured me emphatically.  ROWE is worth at least $40,000 in salary plus a promotion to her.  Talk about a selling point!

Every time people talk about work/life balance, I bring it up.  Every time someone talks about retaining talent, I bring it up.  Every time someone talks about getting things done, I bring it up.  I am motivated by two things:

1. I want ROWE for myself.
2. I don’t think my company will be able to compete effectively in the next two decades without ROWE. 

I love my company.  I want them to attract and retain the best and the brightest and to succeed in the important work we do.  I don’t expect things to change overnight, but the Best Buy success story definitely gives me hope and a model for change.

For those of you that want ROWE for yourself and your team/company, what are you doing to promote it or get support?  Let’s hear it.

For our first installation, we have a reader named Jessica Heiken, an employee of a Fortune 250 company. Here’s what she has to say:

C&J: After reading Why Work Sucks, tell us what attracts you to ROWE.

Jessica: “People at all levels stop doing any activity that is a waste of their time, the customer’s time, or the company’s time.” This is what attracts me to ROWE the most. The idea that we can push aside all the nonsense and get really clear and focused on the things that must get done. I started my career in sales, which is one of the few places where the ROWE mindset exists in traditional companies. I was set up with a home office, given a specific geography, and had a very clear objective to meet every quarter: my sales number. My company didn’t care how I got there but they cared very much if I didn’t. In the last 18 months, I have switched gears and companies. I am passionate about the new work that I am doing, but for the first time, I have to report to a corporate office. I don’t miss working from home, but I wasn’t prepared for all the unwritten rules of the office, all that Sludge stuff. I definitely wasn’t used to having people keep tabs on me. Sludge is such a waste of energy, and I love that the first step of a ROWE migration is to eradicate Sludge.

My experience gives me insight into all that would be wonderful and all that would be challenging about life in a ROWE. Work is still work, no matter where or when you do it. I know how difficult working from home can be, and how much energy it requires to provide structure and motivation for yourself. I know that results-only is demanding. I know that ROWE will not improve the lives of people who hate their jobs. But I also know that we need ROWE. Our companies are full of people that are very good at tasks, but don’t have a clue how to define and achieve specific results. It’s a waste of potential. In a global economy, we cannot afford for our employers to get less than the most impactful results out of the work we put in.

C&J: You’ve said that the company you work for is very results-oriented, but that there’s a big difference between “results-oriented” and “results-only”. Explain.

Jessica: Within my organization, “results-oriented” looks like this: people in leadership positions are judged almost entirely on their results, while the individual contributors are judged on their tasks and their effort. Leaders are very clear on their objectives and what success will look like at the end of the year. Unfortunately, when you get down to the individual contributor and middle management levels, the focus is still on the task. This is not to say they aren’t trying to focus on results, but they’re going about it the old-fashioned way. Setting performance objectives is a very formal, HR-driven, annual process that everyone in the company participates in. It’s all about the process; the culture remains unchanged. Too many employees see it as an annoying task to complete once a year and then not look at again until next year. The process fails to produce results because they haven’t committed to really changing the culture.

C&J: Which of the 13 Guideposts from the book do you think Corporate America is furthest from? Why?

Jessica: “Nobody talks about how many hours they work.” I think we are furthest from this Guidepost because measuring work in units of time is so easy - for managers and for employees. In talking to people about ROWE, I’ve found that the idea that work can be done anywhere is very easy for people to accept. They have seen enough remote work arrangements to understand that concept. What is much more difficult for people to accept is the idea that work should be measured and not time. They do not have a model for that. They don’t know how you can tell if people are doing enough unless you know how much time they’ve spent working. There seems to be a fear that other people will not do enough work in a ROWE. And the flip side of that is the fear that employees will be asked to do too much without the contraints of a 40-hour work week.

Part 2 of Jessica’s interview coming on Wednesday…

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Event news: A reminder that we’ll be speaking this week, along with Marcus Buckingham, at an event in the Twin Cities hosted by Ideation Consulting. For more information and to register, click here.

Media news: We interviewed with the Rick Gillis Employment Radio show over the weekend. To hear the podcast (which includes references to beer drinking, Fantasy Football, and a fun Sludge Fest), click here and scroll down to the podcast section.