Articles » Wave good-bye to the nine to five
A flexible working life has long been on the leadership agenda .. it’s 20 years since Charles Handy at the London Business School started talking about portfolio careers and more flexible working practices. Surprising then, that in this digital age, most work is still associated with fixed locations. Flexible workplaces with flexible hours and days are long in coming.
Why is it that working from home, for example, still isn’t a regular part of most people’s work week? It could raise productivity, reduce traffic congestion and pollution, and improve the quality of family life. Many leaders I work with occasionally stay out of their offices even when not travelling, because they get more done where there are no interruptions, whether it’s at home or elsewhere.
It is a 24/7 world of work anyway. Working internationally often means very early morning or late evening conversations ... and gradually people have merged their work and home lives. It really is no longer possible to ‘separate’ work and home .. and most people I know are very happy with that!
It’s also no longer possible to blame the technology: technology now exists to make remote work feasible and effective.
I guess then, that the barriers must be the usual human ones? Without a culture of strong accountability, collaboration, trust and personal responsibility, remote work doesn't work. Managers don't always know how to coordinate and communicate with people they do not see face to face; they must value the work product and not the face time. Leadership is important. People need clear goals, deadlines, and performance metrics. Team members need trust and the ability to rely on and fill in for one another. And just as managers should not discriminate against people who choose more remote work time, those who work flexibly need to make sure they do not appear to put their personal lives above their commitments to colleagues, companies, and outcomes.
Click here to read The Guardian article
“...a deceptively gentle approach that delivered great results”
—Simon Davidson, Interim Head of Logistics, Waterstones
