WFH - The Debate Continues
I’ve written several times about the phenomenon of working from home (WFH). Since the start of the global coronavirus pandemic in 2020, this has been the only way that many businesses and entrepreneurs could survive in the harsh “social distancing” environment that was necessary to slow down the spread of the virus whilst vaccines were developed.
A recent article suggests that the WFH phenomenon is gathering momentum. People are embracing “telework” (I think this is the new word for “telecommuting” which was in vogue some years ago).
The article draws a number of conclusions: the world is changing. Some cities, regions and countries are recovering faster than others. Some cities are experiencing higher demand for office space than others.
Some companies which are now calling for employees to return to a centralised workplace are meeting stiff resistance (Amazon and Twitter are prime examples).
Employees generally seem to be experiencing a better quality of life if allowed to WFH. This means happier, more productive, and (one hopes!) more loyal employees. In the same way, what motivation is there to return to the pre-COVID practice of getting up early in the morning, suffering an hour-long commute through congested streets, highways or on crowded trains to work for 12 hours or more only to repeat the same commuting process to return home tired and hungry and to find that children need help with homework or are upset and want their dinner?
In short, the whole WFH debate will continue. Where it’s possible to “telework” employers may be well advised to consider the benefits to themselves in the long run.
Equally, those who work in jobs that require an on-site presence need to accept that WFH is likely to remain an impossibility. They will either need to search for work that offers this prospect or seek compensation in other forms (e.g., higher wages, more time off, reduced hours, flexible hours, etc).
I recently read that banking giant HSBC will be leaving their 45-floor headquarters in the Canary Wharf area of London to move back Into premises in the heart of London as demand for office space for their staff has reduced since the pandemic. More are likely to do the same.
I’ve spent more than half my life delivering change in different world markets from the most developed to “emerging” economies. With a wealth of international experience in international financial services around the world running different operations and lending businesses, I started my own Consultancy to provide solutions for improving performance, productivity and risk management. I work with individuals, small businesses, charities, quoted companies and academic institutions across the world. An international speaker, trainer, author and fund-raiser, I can be contacted by email. My website provides a full picture of my portfolio of services.
Labels: Leadership, Productivity, Strategy, Teamwork
The Pain of “Presenteeism”
An article that recently appeared in BBC work, life commented on something of which I had never heard: the phenomenon of “presenteeism”.
This is described as “a compulsion, often performative, to work long hours and be available around the clock, even when unwell or unproductive”. Certainly, before COVID, this was rife in companies, particularly those in the financial, consulting, and technical sectors. These are known for long working hours, and the fact that workers feel they need to be seen.
Although COVID resulted in a considerable change in work practices in many sectors with employers offering Working From Home (WFH) as part of their package, it appears that some employees still feel under some compulsion (perhaps largely self-inflicted?) to be seen at work. One reason for this may be that they prefer the actual process of going to work because it helps them separate work and home life, whereas more discipline is required to achieve this if WFH (guilty).
Unfortunately, some managers may not be entirely confident that they can rely on their teams to be as productive at home as they are in the office. This is counterbalanced by employees’ trust in their leaders weakening owing to poor communications and lack of direction in terms of company, plans and strategy for the future.
Clearly, if there is a lack of trust, presenteeism is likely to be the result to make sure that one is rewarded for one’s efforts at work.
Another concept raised by the article is that of “digital presenteeism” - employees ensuring that they are seen to be logging on (note the sudden “tsunami” of emails and text messages).
Now that we are “back to normal”, in organisations which focused on adapting to WFH to ensure business continuity we see that presenteeism may now be rearing its head as a result.
The answer? Understand what’s driving the presenteeism phenomenon if we see it in our organisations and implement policies to define working hours and stick to them so that employees can “disconnect” from work in all senses of the word.
I’ve spent more than half my life delivering change in different world markets from the most developed to “emerging” economies. With a wealth of international experience in international financial services around the world running different operations and lending businesses, I started my own Consultancy to provide solutions for improving performance, productivity and risk management. I work with individuals, small businesses, charities, quoted companies and academic institutions across the world. An international speaker, trainer, author and fund-raiser, I can be contacted by email. My website provides a full picture of my portfolio of services.
Labels: Career, Leadership, Productivity, Teamwork
Be “Up Front”
I’ve talked before about clear communication. More recently, I’ve heard people complain about how they aren’t given complete information when making a decision to purchase.
Recently, a friend decided to download an app recommended on a YouTube video. He went to the App Store found the app and downloaded it. However, when he had gone through the process of setting up an account, the app informed him that its first use was free, but that subsequent uses would incur a charge.
I understand: app developers need to finance their business and pay developers for any updates that they implement. If you don’t pay your developers, nothing gets developed (and they’ll go to an employer who doespay them)! What my friend objected to was that he wasn’t unaware that there would be a cost and the extent of that cost before he downloaded the app.
There are plenty of other stories, in which consumers complain about failure to disclose material facts that might impact their decision on whether to buy a product or service. Some end well with refunds being paid and an apology. In other cases, things get more heated and the merchant or store starts to bring out all kinds of excuses as to why they were justified in doing what they did.
Not only can this impact perception of a vendor’s brand, products and services (let alone their ethics!) it can also put them out of business. Such is the power of social media…
The worst scenario is going out of business following an unfavourable review, followed by others, followed by investigations by the relevant industry regulator. Whilst it may be “painful” for vendors to disclose “bad news” (like pricing), it’s nonetheless a vital part of doing business in an ethical manner.
In my friend’s case, the app vendors had stated that first use of their product was free that subsequent uses would be subject to a charge but hadn’t disclosed what those charges might be. However, their disclosure came towards the end of their product description. Again, this might be tricky: people download the same app from different app stores which are priced in different currencies. It would be unreasonable to expect any vendor to disclose all possible prices in all possible currencies.
In short, we need to be as “up front” (transparent) as possible. This means delivering “bad news” in a factual manner and advising any alternatives that may make a difference to buying decisions. People who develop apps or deliver products or services deserve to be paid for their labour. Very few of us work for free.
I’ve spent more than half my life delivering change in different world markets from the most developed to “emerging” economies. With a wealth of international experience in international financial services around the world running different operations and lending businesses, I started my own Consultancy to provide solutions for improving performance, productivity and risk management. I work with individuals, small businesses, charities, quoted companies and academic institutions across the world. An international speaker, trainer, author and fund-raiser, I can be contacted by email. My website provides a full picture of my portfolio of services.
Labels: Customer Care, Financial, Selling, Strategy
Update It!
I follow one particular website for a certain type of information. At the top of the landing page, they have a “banner” or “tickertape” with announcements of various kinds of news.
This banner or “ticker” doesn’t get updated very often. The effect of this, unfortunately, is to dissuade people from watching it as they feel that the same old stuff will come up day after day.
Worse, headlines that are clearly “old news” remain up longer than is perhaps necessary. After more than 6 months of the year's "ticker", one of the headlines has been up for three. That’s not an update, that’s history.
To retain interest and persuade customers and others, visiting our website for the first time that we are “on top of our game” (or even ahead of it!), our updates need to be timely and up no longer than is absolutely necessary.
Interestingly, I’ve received a number of mails from the same site announcing “special deals” - why weren’t they on the “ticker” at the top of the website? That would be interesting.
Managing websites is no easy matter - I know from personal experience! However, as the movie says, “with great power comes great responsibility”. There are other websites out there, crying out for attention, space in your busy day, and to be moved up the rankings in search engines. Our failure to keep things interesting means that we’re likely to lose interest and potential business.
The way around this is to have a firm policy in terms of website, content, management and updates. Staff in charge of the website, need to understand how often it should be changed, updated, and what constitutes “the news” as well as what news is no longer “new”.
I’ve spent more than half my life delivering change in different world markets from the most developed to “emerging” economies. With a wealth of international experience in international financial services around the world running different operations and lending businesses, I started my own Consultancy to provide solutions for improving performance, productivity and risk management. I work with individuals, small businesses, charities, quoted companies and academic institutions across the world. An international speaker, trainer, author and fund-raiser, I can be contacted by email. My website provides a full picture of my portfolio of services.
Labels: Customer Care, Productivity, Selling, Social, Strategy
