Modern Work Culture
Citing this blog post in last week’s blog made me realize again how ugh all this debate about RTO is. I’m a researcher at heart, love facts and data, and moreso the story they tell (that’s why we call what we do fact-based analysis) and I’m still trying to figure out what all the fuss is about. Why can’t companies offer flexibility AND also ask for set days of the week for people to come into the office — both/and?
The analyst in me wants better measurement and facts to tell the story. The leader that cares about people — staff and client well-being — wants us to get over making this so dang hard and get on with trusting people to do the right thing. Imagine if Dilbert were still around. Oh, what fun he’d be having with all the office fodder about working remotely vs. RTO. I keep seeing silly cartoons in my mind. A CEO slamming his fist down insisting people come to work, only to end up on Zoom because their colleagues are in London and Singapore, while they sit marooned in New York!
One leader told me his Boston staff, some who live 10 minutes away from a gorgeous building they all admit is lovely, will not head into the office because the people they work with aren’t in the same location. Why commute to sit at a hot desk and do Zoom meeting after Zoom meeting all-day long? It’s silly.
Another has told me she’s running her company from Colorado (three leaders I know actually are doing this) while staff remains largely remote too. And these are bigger companies in tech-enabled professional and information services businesses. It can be done. Another is asking to help them create a more modern work culture. My first questions are, what’s your criteria for a modern work culture? How will you know when you’ve achieved it? What’s missing right now?
We can’t aim for it if we can’t identify it. And it — culture — is feeling and ethos and so much more. We are going to do a study soon on how leaders are looking at this phenom. Why do three leaders who work from Colorado and offer flexibility feel just fine about how it’s working, while others insist everyone must be in the office? I’m fascinated by this topic and by the culture wars brewing over it. What does a modern work culture look like in our industry’s leaders eyes? Stay tuned as we’re going to find out.