New research from Microsoft summarized in this Harvard Business Review article by Jared Spataro confirms that we’ve arrived where I predicted we would end up months ago. Now it’s about how to operationalize and optimize the flexible way we will work and manage life “next.”
That will entail:
1) Leaders aligning behind a shared vision and understanding of what the flexible “next” of work looks like in their organization: why it matters to their business and how they will get there.
2) Moving beyond “balance” which doesn’t exist and giving people what they actually want (although they don’t have the language to describe it) which is the ability to flexibly “fit” their work and life together to be their best on and off the job: work+life fit.
3) Moving beyond “hybrid” and giving managers, teams and employees the skills and tools to determine where, when and how they work best based upon the tasks and priorities they need to execute, recognizing that will look different for different businesses and jobs. In doing so, they will:
*answer the question “why am I in the office” so the way they work is intentional, coordinated and makes sense to them.
*establish more effective boundaries around work and life, together.
*feel invested in and part of the way they have to plan, coordinate and execute their work across workplaces, spaces and time.
And that’s “culture.”
#workflexibility #flexiblework #leadership #hybridwork #performance #worklifefit #futureofwork #newworldofwork