There has been much discussion since Covid-19 arrived about working from home, and more recently about heading back to the office. The overall rate of working from home has decreased recently from 40% to 37%, though female participation rates rose to an all-time high of 62.3% and stayed there (ABS, Dec. 2023). Some organisations are treating WFH as just a fad that came and went, while Atlassian are reaffirming their Work-Anywhere policy (SMH Editorial, 23 Feb. 2024).

Recent ‘Right To Disconnect’ legislation, and current proposals to allow any-time make-up of hours, now overlap a WFH debate which rages on against a backdrop of the economy slowing and overall unemployment now back over 4% for the first time in two years. Organisations tempted to wait for higher unemployment, however, might not be able to get the flexibility genie back in the bottle.

If an organisation’s view is that staff are “lucky to have a job” then they will probably stick with their Master-Servant style of management. Line managers looking to “control” their staff might perceive WFH to involve spending more time working on people, and thus try to limit their staff to a single working model to make their own jobs easier. As in a previous Post, though, productivity is not about managers’ quality of life, but staff motivation!

Such traditional inflexible approaches may encourage staff to seek more welcoming working environments. As The Equalizer said in a recent TV episode, “Fear does not breed loyalty!”, and typically the better staff leave, so how can WFH be enabled in a positive yet manageable manner?

Which Factors Influence WFH Decisions?

A recent Sydney Morning Herald Letter to the Editor suggested that “If the work can be done at home, then let it be done at home; if it can’t, then don’t”, and Patrick Durkin of The Australian Financial Review suggests that the decision regarding where work is performed depends on the industry, what kind of work, and for whom (‘the client’) … presumably in both external supply chains (paying customers) and internal workflows.

When the above is clear, managers are able to explain their team’s ‘Compulsories’ … those decisions not up for debate. They can then also define core tasks, how they need to be performed, what deliverables are expected, what standards are to be followed, and when to review their work.

Overall, WFH should vary depending on two elements:

• Nature of the work itself and specific tasks (as above), and …
• Each worker themselves: Personality type (e.g. introvert or extrovert), and their personal Situation (e.g. the commute, the home environment).

Managers will need to get to know each of their staff members with conversation, questioning and listening, in both directions, to get to know their preferences!

Fundamentally, what is underpinning all of this?

For Managers to be less nervous about letting their staff out of their sight, they need to know what their staff are working on and when to expect its completion, as opposed to what they are doing at any specific minute in the day. The question then becomes one of how much they trust their staff?

This approach is not dissimilar to dealing with teenagers: you want to allow them more room to grow, and for you to move from an ‘adult-child’ approach to one of adult and budding-adult, but are nervous about letting go. You wonder how soon to pull back, how well prepared are they to take on more responsibility, and how can you catch them if (when?) they stumble?

Way back in the 1980’s, Billy Joel sang “It’s always been a matter of trust” in personal relationships, though Ronald Reagan cautioned all to “Trust but Verify” in relationships with Russia, so consider how to monitor staff progress while allowing them to develop, and without losing their trust.

Outcomes, Benefits (and Costs)?

WFH arrangements, and the two-way process of dealing with it, will together deliver myriad benefits including staff feeling more trusted and valued, more willing to expend discretionary effort, less likely to leave the organisation, and more prepared to recommend that friends join the team. All of these will contribute to increased productivity in the short and longer term.

Managers can be more assured that overall team outcomes are secure, along with key personnel, and then relax MORE than they might have done in a traditional office environment. Behold: Working-From-Home has become Working-From-Anywhere, so What’s The Fuss?

Sure, there is a cost to all this. Managers might need to spend more time than they used to in speaking with and listening to their staff, and this might feel burdensome initially, though spending more “quality time” will generate greater confidence and fewer “surprises”.

So, how well equipped are your managers to achieve the right WFH balance for each individual, and thus move their teams from minimum effort to greater buy-in, proactivity, and productivity?

How much can you trust your managers to develop trust with their teams??

Teaching the Trust-Based Approach to WFH

Fortunately, the above process can be taught, including the requisite communication skills to implement it. Investment in human capital may be one of the best leveraged investments that organisations can make, and underpins all other investments. Sadly, soft skills are sometimes seen as “nice to have’s”, but are the glue that holds together all other tasks and activities. They are also part of the “How To” which is not often found in textbooks, nor within current AI.