The changing definition of “work”
The COVID-19 pandemic presents an unprecedented business problem. While many companies were prepared for cyber-attacks, terrorist attacks, and weather-related disasters, few of them were ready last month for the impact of this virus on the World of Work. What happens when your office-based workforce must suddenly work remotely? Of course, there are concerns about IT access and information security, but even at a higher level, how do you effectively continue your business when no one is sitting in their assigned seats?
One thing upon which everyone can agree is the indisputable fact that the COVID-19 crisis has upended the world of professional work and has challenged some long-held assumptions. The most significant element of “business as usual” culture to be upended is the pervasive thought that, if employees are not in their workstations at the office during normal business hours, they must not be working. Oddly enough, Silicon Valley, ostensibly the nexus of innovation and all things Internet is where this old, outdated thinking still reigns. It’s found in pockets of other industries as well—finance and pharmaceuticals, for example—but the irony that it exists in the very culture that brought us the ability to work 24/7 is palpable.
As experts opine on how the pandemic may forever change the country, I hope that there will be a significant shift from the harmful assumption that this around-the-clock work culture works well for anyone. Right now, with schools and daycares closed, millions of employees and their employers are realizing that work cannot continue as usual, simply because technology enables remote work.
For managers who have always valued “face time” over real results, the next few months will be a reckoning. Shareholder value and EPS depend not upon “butts in seats” and solely on results. If all of Silicon Valley could work effectively via remote access for months, why would high tech companies in the Valley continue to source talent based not on, well, talent, but also on geography? Managers who cling to the “old school” mentality will be left behind those who manage not to the clock, not to a physical location, but results.
Executives and managers have the opportunity to choose quality work over quantity of work. They can value the creative ideas that emerge after a midday hike or meditation session, rather than putting in face time at the office. They can stop rewarding the faster response over the better response, or the longer workday—“I was here until nine last night!”—over the more productive workday—“I solved the client issue and improved the overall satisfaction score.” Which do you think will be more important in the new world of work, and which will be deemed outmoded, myopic, and archaic?