It's work boss, but not as we know it...
Exit the good old office culture
A fun job, nice colleagues, a good boss. What more do you want? If this is how it is, we don't mind going that extra mile. However, the 'old' way of working is no longer self-evident.
In the Netherlands they seem to know for sure: our method of working is no longer ideal. Traffic jams in the morning alone cause lost working hours and stress, and you haven't even started work! The result of flexible working hours: a longer rush hour. We need to find another solution.
It is gradually starting to dawn here as well that work is not where you drive to but what you do. The office is not the same as the work. You can ask yourself whether you really need to face rush hour for your work. Switching on your computer at home instead of at the office gives you a headstart: you just get on with it. The hours you 'win' can be spent on working. If you work from home you can take the children to school without stress for a change. Or you quickly run by the corner shop. Working or shopping, it's up to you. You'll more easily find the right balance.
If we all start spending less time at the office, it has considerable consequences for our work culture. Your colleagues and boss will always be important but how do you stay up to date on all the latest gossip if you no longer see all those trusted faces at the water cooler? How does your boss know what you are up to? And how do we organise work meetings?
Skype-coaching
Work and shop floor will be organised differently in the near future, without fixed desks, but more in keeping with the needs of the moment. Our work area will broaden, and if we spend less time at the office, a new method of working is necessary. New technologies need to make this possible.
It is no longer important how many hours we spend at the office. 'New managers' don't care who the last person is to switch off the light. That is part of the old work and water cooler culture. Managers will, in any case, want to know how you go about your work, as well as the problems you encounter and the results you generate. Ultimately, it is important for everyone that the reached agreements are respected. A weekly one hour Skype-coaching session can be more efficient than the annual evaluation review with your boss.
New challenges demand new answers. Directors who wonder what the return of these new methods are (“What do you mean, productivity is not the same as worked hours?”) should also study the effect on the corporate culture. They should also ask themselves what motivates their employees most. A culture based on trust, recognition and autonomy is the backbone of the organisation. It turns us into the engaged and driven employees we want to be. It's work boss, but not as we know it…
