Work Sucks

Man!  I've just read one of the most profound books of my life.  It takes together so many things that I have been thinking of in terms of organisational development and leadership.

Are you tired of working in a company where they dictate how you can live?  What I mean is that for the vast majority of companies out there it is not unusual to pay you based on the time you have spent on the job but what they are actually looking for are results.  So on the weekends and on holidays you have full say on when you do what, but when you are 'at work' the company has taken over your decision-making for you.

So here is a crazy idea: how about organising work so that everyone can do whatever they want, whenever they want to as long as the work gets done.  FREEDOM.  Yes, you owe the company results for the salary they are paying you but you do not owe them your time.  Think about it, if you are a smart person and can work faster than others you get rewarded with more work.  How about only measuring if you've done your work based on results and you decide how and when that work gets done?

Never miss your child's birthday ever again, take your wife out for the whole day when it is your anniversary, take two extra weeks on vacation and never ask anyone to do it, study for your degree and never ask for a day's leave, and all the time you never skip a beat at work because we are living in the 21st century where cell phones, Internet, laptops, etc. have enabled us to do work in a way that makes us FREE.  But do we?  No!  We are still caught in the 1950's where we believe people can't be trusted and that there are only a few performers.

The reality is that people can be trusted as long as the desired results are clarified from the start and follow-through is ensured through continuous communication.  It is called ROWE: Results Only Work Environment and you can read about it in a book called Why Work Sucks and How to Fix It.

Just a note if you enjoy hiding behind long work hours as a way to hide your laziness or incompetence you should reconsider this approach.  ROWE will quickly identify people that cannot deliver or that cannot work in such an environment.

You can read more about the movement here: www.culturerx.com