Trends That Are Influencing The Future Of Work

Steffan, I just put up a post, "What Happens When Companies Block Social Media Sites". I hadn't read your post before I posted mine. I spoke a few weeks ago about this topic too. Additionally, last week i attended a conference, "Next Generation in Work Flexibility". The amazing thing to me is that people talk about these topics like they are happening 20 years from now and that using social media in workplace, allowing access to the internet and creating flexible work options isn't happening real time. These are REAL issues facing employers today. I see this as such a HUGE win for the companies that figure it out and a maximum competitive edge. Some of the questions that people ask about employee motivations ("How can we ever trust them-they have to be managed!") astound me! I've been supervising employees for almost 20 years, employees largely still want the same thing, autonomy, empowerment and recognition. It still doesn't appear to me that you have to be within the same four walls to get those things. Thanks for writing about a very powerful topic!

Angie,

For more on this topic, check out Jason Fried's (37Signals) article "How I
Work" in this month's Inc. or Dan Pink's TED talk on the new paradigm for
work and motivation. You're right, companies that figure out how to give
their employees autonomy and freedom will win in the long run. 37Signals is
the best example of that - they're leading the way in "new work styles".
I'll check out your post in a few. I'm sure it's full of great insights. In
the mean time, check out Jason's piece in Inc. :

http://www.inc.com/magazine/20091101/the-way-i-...

Man that slide deck is cool. Obviously the content is good too, but I just have to thank you for giving me the intro to Apollo Ideas. I will most definitely be hiring them to do slide decks for me in the future.

This presentation talks a lot about the future of 'finding' work, but yesterdays article in INC. got me thinking about the future of the work day. Jason Fried, founder of 37signals, talks about his work day and obviously his company is currently the extreme but a good place to start seeing the future of the work day.

http://www.inc.com/magazine/20091101/the-way-i-...

Great post Steffan.

Thanks for this link. Great article. Seriously....how great is 37Signals.
These guys are considered the extreme now, but you know what, they'll for
sure be the norm soon because they're doing it right.

Happy employees = hard working employees
Hard working employees = valuable employees
Valuable employees = creative employees
Creative employees = Happy employees
and on and on and on.

They're definitely doing it right.

I thought this quote from Jason Fried in the article was interesting (and
true to reality and why results only work environments work better):

"*After lunch, I get a little lazy between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. I don't feel
that productive, so I'm usually screwing around, which I think is really
important. Everyone should read stuff on the Web that's goofy or discover
something new. I hate it when businesses treat their employees like
children. They block Facebook or YouTube because they want their employees
to work eight hours a day. But instead of getting more productivity, you're
getting frustration. What's the point? As long as the work gets done, I
don't care what people do all day*."

I might skip sharing that with my employer :)

Obviously you wouldn't volunteer that information out of context
of discussions like this. We all fear that our boss would assume that we
were being lazy - but that's because of the "you should only be doing
productive work from 9-5" mentality. Jason's point is that the assumptions
underlying the 40 hour work week and productivity need to be rethought - and
I agree with him. Creating the right environment and culture where people
feel free to get things done but manage themselves is about acknowledging
people's natural rythms, the importance of building unstructured downtime
into people's days and letting individuals work when they feel most
productive. For example, I'm usually most productive at 3 times during the
day - early in the morning 7-11am (I'm a morning person), at the end of the
day (3-5pm) and at night (8-11pm). Night sessions are great if I've rested
in the afternoon. I'm a big fan of mid day power naps. I don't care what
anyone says...a good solid nap during the day can be amazing for getting you
in the zone for a really productive work session from 8-midnight. The 8 hour
(straight) work day assumes that productivity is maximized when a lot of
people are stuck together in clusters for long stretches. I find that that's
not the case. This might be true of a manufacturing plant or of workers who
do lots of data entry and basic processing tasks, but it's flawed thinking
when it comes to people who are doing thought work like
writing, analysis, designing or coding. I batch my work into tasks that
take up to a few hours each. I make lists of the most important things that
need to get done. When I have a block of time, I start on the most important
thing and focus on it until it's done. Then I stop and take a break and pick
up the next thing. Working in focused bursts, but
also allowing for unstructured periods of time in between is important for
keeping productivity sustainable. I've seen colleagues burn out quickly when
they don't take breaks and try to take on too much all at once. They get
overwhelmed and lose focus. Big four accounting was like that, especially
during busy season. It ruins the work environment, people get bitter and the
work place loses it's energy which can have a powerful negative affect on
teams.

Wow, that could have been a post in and of its self.

I get crazy productive after 11pm usually until 1am or so. I love late
night.

*no, that's not an ad for Taco Bell.

:)

Who will be responsible for training - the company or the employee?

Power and freedom are a potent combination that continues to shape the present and future - and technology advances that paradigm to the point where control (by government or corporation) evaporates over time.

My former roommate, @tonybgoode, runs the co-working space in manhattan (not an easy task, considering the rental rates!). He's a huge proponent of this thinking - you should definitely connect with him.

That would be great - can you send me his contact info? Thanks!

This resonates with me superbly - thanks Steffan for posting!

Whilst I freelance now, I used to keep an office for our small design company for almost a decade. I appreciate the freedom and flexibility in work hours and location and am optimistic about this method of working in the future.

Bring it on!
Meanwhile, I'm gonna have to keep learning online to keep up...

Mark - Just wait to see what happens when Cisco brings telepresence to the
mass market. The entire concept of an office is going to be completely
turned on its head.

Excellent news!

I think so too.