Comments on: Trends That Are Influencing The Future Of Work

By: Steffan Antonas

Steffan Antonas — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 05:04:56 +0000

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-...

By: angieaswartz

angieaswartz — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 04:51:30 +0000

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!

By: nateritter

nateritter — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 22:23:17 +0000

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.

By: Ryan Graves

Ryan Graves — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:21:57 +0000

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.

:)

By: Steffan Antonas

Steffan Antonas — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:10:43 +0000

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.