workplace

Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should

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There’s no doubt that the pandemic taught as a lot about how we can organise ourselves differently at speed to continue to deliver for our stakeholders – whoever they may be. The pace at which organisations, especially the likes of essential services, retail, distribution and warehousing, adapted to the circumstances was a real lesson in agility. And of course, more widely across business and society changes were made to accommodate the restrictions and risks that were at large.

But just because you can do something, doesn’t mean you should and one of the overhangs from the pandemic are a whole range of practices that might have been appropriate at the time, but now just look like organisations, teams and individuals trying to have an easier life. A great example last week was the non-story that KPMG and Deloitte would once again be recruiting in person. It goes without saying that this is a good move for them and for the candidates, however, the fact that it is a story and that it has taken them this long to get there is a bit of a head scratch. I’m not proposing that technology has no part to play in the selection process, but as someone who has interviewed and been interviewed via video, it really isn’t the answer.

Similarly, organisations that moved to “virtual work experience” need to start complementing these with their previous in person work experience programmes to ensure that those people that benefit the most get real and proper access to those opportunities. Easy to deliver, yes. As beneficial to the participants? I’m not convinced in the slightest. And at the end of the day, something being easy was never a measure of success no matter how many happy sheet, participant outcomes you use to defend it.

It would be remiss of me to write a post like this and not mention remote working. How does that one play out? Well it is probably the biggest workplace experiment of our time and the reality is no-one knows. But clinging on to practices as a point of principle is never a good look and those people that have got themselves so dug into the “future of work” rhetoric are already starting to detune and those that don’t are going to look pretty silly if the experiment has a different outcome. That doesn’t make it right or wrong, one of the joys about having a hypothesis is you always have a null hypothesis too, it only makes it stupid if you don’t follow the data.

The folly of individual choice

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It is very rare that I recommend a book, I did enough of that when I worked at Penguin Random House so I figure I’m due a break. And, to be honest, I’m baffled why my ex-colleagues didn’t acquire “The Lonely Century” by Noreena Hertz, because, quite frankly, it is brilliant. If ever there was a book for our current times, then this feels like it. But I’ll allow you to explore that for yourselves and instead move on to a few reflections that come from it.

If I think back to my early studies and career, I recognise now the relentless push towards individual focus in the workplace. Often driven by research from the US, we were encouraged to look at performance related pay, individual rather than collective bargaining and concepts such as engagement and discretionary effort. After decades of frustration caused by industrial disputes and fuddled business thinking, a new doctrine was emerging – singular choice.

I think most of us would conclude now that the push on performance related pay based on granular performance reviews is folly which failed to deliver on its one stated aim and of course we’ve seen the impact the individual bargaining has had on the gender pay gap, not to mention the inherent discrimination in many organisations against black, asian and other ethnic employees. And yet, the direction of travel continues through other elements such as pension choices, extreme flexible benefits and individual learning accounts.

And now, perhaps the biggest threat to collective organisational culture and support. The “choice” about where you work.

If anything, our workplaces and organisations should be a driver of societal cohesion. They should be places that bring people together to deliver collective outcomes and goals, they should be places in which we identify and feel we belong. They should be places that celebrate and welcome difference, through unity. They should be places that literally bring people together.

And in many cases they haven’t been anything like this.

The answer, however, cannot be to further fragment our organisations to allow people to choose when and if they come together with their colleagues. It cannot be to allow the behaviour of the majority to leave others feeling left out or to create organisations where only one “type” feels that they can truly fit in, or to create two or three tier organisations where only certain rules apply to certain groups.

The answer instead is to recreate our organisations around our communities, to be truly inclusive, cohesive and welcoming. Recognising that sometimes we all have to make individual sacrifices in the pursuit of a higher collective goal. Where we sign up (explicitly or implicitly) to support one another first and to think of ourselves thereafter, where the sum of the whole is greater than the individual parts. The answer has to be to try harder, not to give up.

If I think back to March this year, there was genuine hope that we would emerge from the pandemic having rediscovered concepts around community, collective identity, selflessness and the recognition of previously unsung heroes. As we go into the autumn and winter (and another lockdown) I worry this was more of a temporary blip, I sincerely hope I’m wrong.

How not to screw up your holiday

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As the schools start to break up, we are in to peak holiday season with workers and their families looking to take some well deserved time off. And for all our talk about flexible working, four day weeks and remote working, there’s are a number of things that we can all do to support our colleagues when they (or we) are on holiday.

If you’re starting to think about the warmth, the smell of suncream and the thought of a cool drink by a pool, try to spend a little bit of time also thinking about your co-workers who are staying behind.

  1. Do a proper handover –  the good old fashioned handover is a thing of beauty when done well, because it allows you and your colleagues to relax and enjoy their break. But I can tell you now that you won’t be able to remember everything you need to convey in the last five minutes before you leave the building. Start a week or two before to list down the things that are ongoing, worrying you or lily to occur and then plan good time in with the people that you need to tell.
  2. Work until the end – of course you’re excited about your holiday, that’s entirely normal. But it starts when you finish work and finishes when you start work. Your co-workers aren’t in the same fortunate position as you (although they may be soon enough!) so remember to pull your weight right through until the last. Last minute online holiday shopping can be done after work, but don’t worry you’re still allowed to show your pics off when you get back – just not for the next two weeks!
  3. Remember you’re on holiday – some of us like to interfere and been involved in pretty much everything, even when we are on holiday. But here is the deal, you’re either in or you’re out and doing the workplace version of the Can-Can is not ok. Decisions will be made without you, conversations will take place, you’re surrounded by capable colleagues, so let them do their jobs.

But of course, if we all want to have a happy and harmonious holiday period then it isn’t just the person going on leave that needs to watch out. Those of us left in the workplace need to play by some basic rules too (remembering this will come back on us at some point too).

  1. Don’t forget to hold the baby – which I’m using as an idiom, unless you happen to work in a nursery or kindergarten, in which case in the literal sense as well. We are all busy with our own work and responsibilities, but in order for everyone to have a decent break and not regret it when they get back, we all need to pick up the slack. So if your colleague asks you to look after something when they’re away, don’t forget to do so.
  2. Don’t rely on your memory – a lot can happen in two weeks and if your colleague is off for that length of time, you’re probably not going to remember everything that has happened that would be useful for them to know. I”m not talking about the water cooler gossip, but the stuff that makes work easier. So make some notes as you go along and, just like the handover, make sure that there is time set aside to bring them properly up to speed.
  3. “I know you’re on holiday but…” – I’ve written before about the toxicity of this statement, but I want to focus on the more general point here. If someone is on holiday, they’re on holiday. If you can’t operate the business without them for a couple of weeks, then there is something pretty wrong with your organisation. Unless it is an absolute crisis, leave them be to get a break and come back as a rested, happier and more productive colleague.

 

Have a great holiday when you get there. Whilst I won’t be on holiday, I’ll be back on the blog in September.