Archive for April, 2009

I want to invite you to join me and 8 other experts as we reveal how to revolutionize your business by harnessing the power of workplace flexibility. Flexibility is a proven business strategy, not a passing fad! In this free virtual seminar series you will learn the insider secrets of increasing flexibility, productivity, and success! Sign up for your free pass now: FlexibleWorkSummit.com! 

Here’s an overview of the 4 sessions:

Strategies for Stretching WHEN You Work | Monday, May 11th, 2pm CST

• How to create a competitive edge in your business by harnessing work-life integration.
• Why work-life fit is more important than work-life balance.
• How workplace flexibility isn’t just about mommies (Secret: it’s actually a cross-generational and gender-neutral issue).

Strategies for Stretching WHERE You Work | Tuesday, May 12th, 2pm CST

• How to successfully implement telecommuting and remote working for your team.
• Tips and tricks for effectively managing a virtual team.
• How to harness technology to revolutionize your workplace.

Strategies for Stretching HOW You Work | Wednesday, May 13th, 2pm CST

• How to make work all about producing results (vs. putting in time, office politics, and face time).
• How to drive results for yourself and your employees by mastering the art of managing to SMART goals.
• Secrets for turning frustrated workers into high-impact performers.

Strategies for Stretching Leaders & Teams | Thursday, May 14th, 2pm CST

• How Generation Y is changing work and leadership—and why it’s a good thing!
• How leadership must evolve to support this new world of flexible work.
• Tips for implementing flexibility in a strategic way that improves team and leader performance.

When Cali Ressler and Jody Thompson first created results-only work environments (ROWEs), they knew changing the way people talked about work would be a critical factor for success. In their book, Why Work Sucks and How to Fix It, they offer 13 guideposts for working in a ROWE and several of those guideposts address mental shifts we need to make about work and how it gets done. 

Today, I want to discuss one of their guideposts aimed at changing fundamental beliefs about work that also requires a shift in the language we use around the office. This tenant relates to WHEN work gets done in a ROWE:

Arriving at the workplace at 2:00 p.m. is not considered coming in late.

Leaving the workplace at 2:00 p.m. is not considered leaving early.

When you work in a ROWE, the clock is no longer used to determine if someone is working. Time ≠ productivity. According to this guidepost, you stop checking your watch when a coworker arrives later than you, and you don’t glance at the clock when someone quietly slips out of the office mid-afternoon. In a ROWE, each employee, regardless of position or rank, is free to set their own hours, their own schedule, and determine their own work location. 

Please don’t misunderstand—working in a ROWE isn’t a complete free-for-all. You still must pull your weight and diligently do your job. You still have to put in time and effort, but you have complete freedom to determine when and where your work is done. The tough part for many is that you have zero control over where and when everyone else is working.

In a ROWE, when you’re following this guidepost, asking someone about time becomes a personal question. Asking a coworker where they’re going and why they’re leaving the office at 3:15 p.m. on a Wednesday is personal—and irrelevant. They may be going to a client meeting, going home to work, headed out to pick up their child, to a doctor’s appointment, or to meet a friend. Unless you need something from them for a project you’re trying to finish, where they are headed is none of your business. The same is true for you. If you decide not to go into the office until 11:30 a.m. one day, you don’t have to explain yourself. You just show up and get to work.

This guidepost means we no longer judge others based on when they come and go from the office (or send a work-related email, even if it’s at 2:37 a.m.). And it means we don’t judge ourselves if we’re not sitting at our desk working by 8:00 a.m. And let me tell you, sometimes not judging yourself is the hardest part! 

Our beliefs about time and work are deeply ingrained, rooted in childhood as we watched our parents work a traditional 40-hour work week. We saw them stress about getting to work on time, come home exhausted after staying late, and heard them complain about working overtime. Because work is so tightly bound to time in our culture, it will take time for us to forget about time.

As you think about removing “coming in late” and “leaving early” from your vocabulary, consider your beliefs about time and work. What time in your office is considered “coming in late?” What time is considered “leaving early?” What difference would it make in your life if you never had to worry about either ever again? How would it feel if you were no longer judged—and no longer judged others—by the clock? Leave a comment and let me know how applying this guidepost to your work environment would make a difference.

Today, April 16th, the day after taxes are due in the United States, is National Wear Your Pajamas to Work Day. Are you in yours? 

The organizers of this annual event believe “if you’ve just paid your taxes, you deserve an ULTRA-CASUAL day.” You can check the official website for pictures of people working in their pajamas and you can even submit your own photos. 

Not quite feeling the “holiday” spirit? Well, slip on a pair of fuzzy slippers and check out the Zappos Pajama Party; you’ll see that pajamas can actually make work more fun!

And for those of us that work from home on a regular basis, spend a moment today and relish the fact that if you so desire, every day can be wear your pajamas to work day!

I attended a business building seminar not too long ago and as we neared the final hours on the last day, the trainer gave us time to plan our upcoming week and encouraged us to integrate what we had learned from the weekend into our schedule in the coming days.

I added several action items to my calendar and was excited to get back home and start working away. After the exercise had concluded, the trainer asked a few audience members to share what they were going to do over the next week. I was dumbfounded by their answers; everyone was going to spend the next week planning. During a rare gift of focused time to schedule action, they used their time planning to plan. Planning to plan is NOT the same as implementation!

People who are successful are taking action! Recently I heard Carrie Wilkerson, the Barefoot Executive, say something that perfectly captures this concept. She said (and I’m paraphrasing), “How much money is your potential making you? None! Start taking action.” Many of us have a ton of potential, but if we’re not taking action and putting our potential to use, we won’t be successful.

Planning is important, but where do you spend the majority of your time? Planning to plan or taking action and implementing the plan? When you start taking action on a regular basis you will be consistently successful.

Recently Jessica Lawrence, CEO of the Girl Scouts of San Gorgonio Council, posted the following on her blog about what it’s like to work in a ROWE:

“I overslept this morning. I was supposed to get up at 6 and I woke up at 7:15. If I wanted to get to work in time for a 9 a.m. conference call, I only had 15 minutes to get ready. I was just about to enter into panic mode when I stopped myself.

Why did I need to be at the office for a conference call? I had my computer. I had my phone. Nobody needed me at the office.

I was about to practically kill myself getting ready and waste 30 minutes sitting in traffic for no reason whatsoever. .. A good reminder that truly being ROWE requires that you constantly ask yourself “why.”

Jessica has been working in a ROWE for a while now and still feels those moments of panic that are tied to the old, traditional way of working. You may feel the same way. Beginning to work differently than the mass majority can bring up feelings of guilt, panic, worry that people think you’re cheating or beating the system, jealousy, and fear of being left out because you’re not in the office all the time to catch the latest gossip.

The fact of the matter is that we all hold deeply entrenched beliefs and ideas about how work looks, and doing something different can be scary. But I say if it feels a little scary, a little uncomfortable, you’re probably moving in the right direction. Sometimes we have to start acting differently to instigate change. Change your behaviors and your beliefs will follow.

Here are a few activities you can challenge yourself to try out over the next few weeks. Now I’m not suggesting you to do anything that will get you fired, but if you do have some flexibility with your job and you’re not taking full advantage of it, try shaking things up a bit. I know many business owners and entrepreneurs that have full control over their schedule, but are still stuck in the rut of the traditional work week—this would be a perfect exercise for you!

• Get up and leave the office right now with no explanation (if needed, finish your work at home or from a Starbucks around the corner).
• Schedule a personal appointment (e.g., doctor, dentist, hair cut, massage) in the middle of a Wednesday afternoon.
• Take your kids to school and go into the office “late” and then “leave early” to pick them up from school.
• Take next Tuesday completely off work.
• Turn down a meeting request where your presence isn’t truly warranted.
• The next time you have a beautiful spring day, take a break from work by walking around the block (and don’t set a time limit on your return).
• Enjoy a leisurely 2-hour lunch with a friend on a weekday.

What other ideas do you have for baby steps to begin pushing the boundaries of how, when, and where you work? Which challenge are you going to take on next week? Leave a comment below and let me know if fear is a factor in how flexible you are with your work schedule.

I’m excited to announce the launch of our new newsletter, WorkStyle Weekly. If you’re looking for practical tools, tips, and resources to help you think bigger about how, when, and where you work, sign up below to begin receiving a copy. The content will be separate from what you get here on the blog and as subscribers, you’ll receive first notice on new products, services, and events as well as subscriber-only discounts. Put your name and email address in the box below and look for WorkStyle Weekly to appear in your inbox every Wednesday.

Here’s what others are saying about WorkStyle Weekly:

“Smart and savy! It’s a great, quick, and resourceful read.” 

~Layne Arnold, of Layne Arnold Productions, Dallas, TX

Workplace flexibility, ROWE, and work-life balance initiatives often get stopped in their tracks before there’s even an attempt at making them work. Why? Because people fear change, fear losing control, and are worried about potential negative implications that may or may not be realized. But you know what most FEAR is? It’s False Evidence Appearing Real.

Here are 9 barriers to workplace flexibility that may be holding you and your organization back from fully embracing workplace flexibility. As you read through this list, consider how the barrier is based on false evidence and what you might do or say to turn the fear around.

1. Resistance to change.
2. Concerns about equity (e.g., who gets flex who doesn’t).
3. Fears of abuse (e.g., flex workers take advantage of the system).
4. We tried it before and it didn’t work.
5. Flex workers take more time to manage.
6. Employees worry they’ll be treated like second class citizens and/or penalized and punished.
7. Employees worry they’ll miss career opportunities (e.g., out of sight, out of mind).
8. A “that’s a nice idea, but it will never work here” attitude.
9. The fear that “if I can’t see you, how do I know you’re working?” (e.g., fear of losing control).

Which of these barriers are holding you up? Are there other reasons your company is resisting workplace flexibility? Leave a comment below and let us know which barrier is your biggest challenge.

If you’ve been intrigued by the idea of workplace flexibility (e.g., flexible schedules, working form different locations, flexible work days, results-only work environments), but aren’t sure it’d truly benefit your business, think again! Here are five benefits of workplace flexibility that will help you make the business case.

Benefits of Workplace Flexibility

1. Flexibility helps attract talent.

A flexible work environment is highly attractive to dual-career couples that need a job which allows them to juggle the demands of work and their life and flexibility also attracts Generation Y. If fact, a recent Oxbridge study revealed that work-life balance is the primary factor new graduates are looking for in a job (salary came in 8th on the list). Having a workplace flexibility plan in place, will help you stand out among your competition and enable you to attract top talent.

2. Flexibility aids retention.

Losing an employee is costly; turnover statistics estimate the cost of replacing an employee to be 100-200% of their annual salary. Studies have shown that flexibility actually decreases voluntary turnover. In a survey of 614 companies, flexibility was ranked by half of the companies as their most effective retention tool, better than above-market salaries, stock options, or training.

3. Flexibility raises morale and job satisfaction.

When employees have more flexibility to meet all the demands of work and life, they are more satisfied with their job and have higher morale. This is good news because there are clear links between job satisfaction and turnover. The more satisfied the employee, the less likely they are to leave. Additionally, employee satisfaction is linked with customer retention and satisfaction. When your employees are satisfied they will treat your customers better. It’s a win-win for everyone. 

4. Flexibility improves productivity.

This benefit works with the previous. When employees are more satisfied with their job, they are more engaged and more productive. Companies that offer flexibility also experience fewer unscheduled absences. When employees have the ability to work from home, they can contribute even when their child is sick, they have to care for an elderly parent, or they aren’t feeling well enough to make the commute into the office. Finally, flexibility improves productivity because workers experience fewer interruptions, and thus can get more work done, when they are working outside the office. 

5. Flexibility reduces stress and burnout.

When employees are stressed and burned out they have less commitment to their job and the organization and are more likely to have plans to leave the company. One survey found that half of the workers surveyed said job stress and burnout reduced their productivity. Employees that are stressed and burned out also are sick more often. When you offer your workers flexibility in how, when, and where they are working, they begin to get more sleep, spend more time exercising, and are better able to relax and unwind. When employees reduce their stress, they gain energy, eliminate burnout, and are more productive at work. 

These are just five of the many benefits of workplace flexibility. Which of these will help you make the business case for adding more flexibility to your organization? Choose one or two of these points and begin a conversation about how increasing flexibility in how, when, and where you work could help solve some of the challenges you’ve been facing. If you already have workplace flexibility initiatives in place at your organization, what benefits are you realizing? Share your experiences by leaving a comment below.