Work , the definition of this word changed , went through transformation , kind of Metamorphisis in 2020, continues to evolve from 2021 to 2022 to 2023.
The company’s which are oldies and centuries old refuse to change. they will not accept the benefits of WFH and force their employees come back to office. Some will quit, most will continue to take the slog as in 2019, the BC ( before Covid ) era.
These are control freak organisations with management mostly people beyond 55. who have assistants to run their Tab, Big Offices on exclusive floors . This includes Financial Giants, Wall street guys etc
But ask any tech driven, people friendly organisation , do they want their employees to travel half days ? the answer is a stern no.
Yes they want them to work. They want to focus on outcomes, have fun while being innovative and creative.
So are we moving to a Hybrid working model ?
Office
Home
A place in between . Which is close to home, reduce travel , gives feel of office, helps meet colleagues, professionals , kind of a Co Working space on lease to multiple corporates. Monday blocked for team A, Tuesday for team B.
Lets look at the paradigm Shift.
People are on time when meeting virtually.
Discussions happen in a focussed way.
No time wasted in Jams, Waiting area, reception.
You can hop from US to Canada to India in 5 seconds.
Ideations, discussions , presentations, pitches are happening.
Yes we need to meet, even then, But just for camaraderie, 1 day or 2 days a week in office.
Why cant sundays be working and mondays be off ?
Why it has to be an office ?
why cant small groups meet at 3rd place and sum up or start a week ?
Its time that we relooked at words like Slog, hardwork, commitment, dedication etc and stop measuring it in hours, but start measuring in outcomes and happiness .
This 1 year of differentiated approach to work also raises an important questions ?
what is work ?
Is it defined by Outcome or Hours put ?
Does office and factory working rules , apply still ?
Do various collar jobs need to be treated differently ( a factory output vs office output, Sales output vs marketing output, Finance vs operations .
Should companies focus on hiring hyper local talent or advice employees to shift close by, in case there is no other option but to come to factory /office. ?
Which brings to another important and pertinent question, why organisations want to control people. ? want them in offices, put their cameras on, keep logging, report every 30 minutes on their system ? why ?
We moved from Colonization to industrialization.
This comes from an inherent belief of slave – master mindset.
Its fed in our DNA
people dont want to work, they need to be made to work
people will waste time, if not monitored closely.
People will not be responsible with the work and take it for granted .
The Onus to change this mindset lies on all 3 stake holders HR, company and people.
Pick people with right attitude and aptitude.
Not the cheapest, not the best .
But the person who fits your Values, mission and Goals. Hire for Attitude, train for skills , is the key.
coming to people.
People who are willing to work responsibly without being watched over, supervised, baby sitting.
People who can focus on outcomes .
Organizations that can focus on outcomes rather than hours. Stop being timekeepers, unless its a factory and labour job.
The world needs to move away from the US , CHina Model of work and move to German, Nordic , Danish model of work.
Work . this word.
Needs to be redefined .
Is it something that puts food on your family’s table, cloth on their body, home over their head, fees for their schools and pays for EMI.
or Is it something that makes you happy, helps you become better human being , brings you happiness.
unfortunately its the first one for Most.
Its the job of Organization, HR, and People. to shift it to later.
One Key learning from pandemic is , when people are passionate about their Job, they will Go out of their way to ensure outcomes are ensured. Companies need to just empower and ensure they are trained and euipped.
Never Before has it been more important to evolve new mindsets to work and look at work.
3rd Place will become the most important fulcrum in the new Matrix .
The Outcomes driven , result oriented approach is the key. What work culture ? Its the Toxic environment that people abhor .
Are Organizations willing to pay people just to belong, be part of community ? I ask as this is the next stage. Automation, AI will take away many mundane jobs from 2019 BC era .
What will communities do with Mega Factories churning out Billion Dollar products for World, but the neighbour hood is jobless, community is useless. ? What was the purpose of Detroit ? to create factories, communities, Prospertity, jobs, education, healthcare, recreational places ?
The Whole Model went Kapoot.
Time for world to Evolve a New Community Model . May be Old model with new reality.
I am Thinking. are you ??