Recently a friend of mine, a great proponent of working from home, (WFH for the initiated) stepped down from his job as CEO because of exhaustion and burnout and a need to recalibrate his life. Within a week I learned of several others who have done the same, or are planning to do so soon. Some of them are well-known for advocating remote work. What happened to “working from … [Read more...]
Remote Work: Have Your Cake and Eat It, Too
The age of endless, boring meetings with a sea of eyes peering at us through an ever-increasing number of miniature squares is sadly upon us. Strict face-to-face meetings are likely a thing of the past, and the need to wrestle with videoconferences won’t be going away any time soon. Many of us love the convenience of working at home at least some of the time, and if suffering … [Read more...]
Welcome to Productivity Theater
How much time do you spend proving to others that you’re working when you’re not in the office? This sounds silly, but my long-time colleague, Jessica Stillman wrote an article for INC.com recently that gave a name to that behavior: Productivity Theater. Productivity Theater is engaging in behaviors that aren’t terribly productive but give the appearance of working hard. A … [Read more...]
Will We Ever Eliminate Proximity Bias?
Do you struggle with proximity bias? The answer may reflect the future of your hybrid or remote team. First, we need to define the term. Proximity bias, as the name implies, means to favor the people closest to you physically. For teammates, this can mean working closer with those who share an office space than those who work in different locations, or from home. For leaders, … [Read more...]
You Have the Right to Work from Home…Sort of
The business press here in the U.S. was all abuzz last week with the latest legislation proposed in the Dutch parliament. Workers now have the legal right to work from home...Sort of... Depends. All clear? The Devil is in the Details While I’m not a legal scholar (let alone in Dutch), it seems to me that the important wording in the law is, "The law compels employers to … [Read more...]