Have you noticed the environment is a big deal these days? I’m talking about the work environment.
The world of work is radically changing right here and right now, and company leaders who refuse to change will be left behind and will no longer be competitive in today’s global economy.
Are you ready for these revolutionary changes? Take a look at the following environmental developments:
Results Only Work Environment (ROWE) – With the advent of new technologies that keep employees plugged-in 24/7, location is becoming far less important. The focus is shifting towards results rather than face time. Employers can save significant office space resources while increasing productivity when they are allowed to escape the cubicle jungles of corporate America. That’s right.
Company’s that move to a ROWE environment see productivity increases as high as forty percent. ROWE is not a flexible work arrangement with core hours. Companies who go ROWE give employee’s their lives back while receiving the benefit of better results. Check out the CultureRX website developed by our friends Cali Ressler and Jody Thompson.
Civil Work Environment – We live in a culture where bad manners and behavior is widely accepted on the streets and neighborhoods across urban America. Drivers on American streets and highways are far less accommodating, and sometimes, just plain rude. Parents are not properly teaching manners to their children. Leaders routinely yell at or intimidate their employees. To stop the maddening increase in incivility in the hallways and offices across America, companies are establishing civil work environments free of this harassing influence and establishing rules of engagement. Check out The 25 Rules of Considerate Conduct. You may want to institute these rules in your office.
Great Workplace Environment – A great working environment is a strategic business advantage. We don’t have to spend time explaining to clients the reason for creating a work environment based on trust and respect. Leaders have received the message loud and clear Leaders who do not get this message, however, will not be leaders for very much longer. Our thanks to the Great Place to Work Institute and theFortune 100 Great Places to Work in America list in helping begin this movement.
Jerk-Free/Bully-Free Workplace Environment – Anybody can have a bad day once in a while and act like a jerk. Usually they later apologize for their transgressions. Then there are the certified jerks and bullies who act in a toxic manner most every day.
They terrorize down the organizational ladder while sucking-up the ladder. It has worked for years but companies are putting the breaks on this behavior and ejecting jerks – even the so-called high-value jerks. Our thanks to Bob Sutton, “The No-A**hole Rule”, and Gary Namie, Workplace Bullying Institute, for advancing this movement.
Social Networking Environment – It is amazing how afraid human resource and legal departments are afraid of social networking. However, companies that have developed a great workplace initiative have nothing to fear what their employee’s might say on social networking sites. Libby Sartain, former chief people officer of Southwest Airlines and Yahoo states employees should be a company’s number one advocate in the online community. It is good to know that not all HR people are drones for bad leaders. While employers are performing Google searches on prospective employees, employees are also performing Google searches on prospective bosses. A relatively new site, eBossWatch.com, allows users to rate their boss, good or bad, to help their fellow-employee. Thanks to our friend Asher Adelman for this service.
Free-Lance Environment – Work is more about what needs to get done rather than the encumbrances of becoming an employee. People are loyal to their career – not their company. That is why there are increased numbers of former employees calling it quits after a corporate layoff and becoming solo-entrepreneurs surviving on gigs from various sources. Our thanks to Pamela Slim, Escape from the Cubicle Nation,for writing about this important movement.
There are likely more influences occurring in today’s workplace revolution. But I will stop here for now.
How is your workplace evolving with the times?
