Results-Only Work Environments
How Knowledge Workers Can Create a 20-Hour Workweek for 40-Hour Pay
Jun 19, 2007
"Instead of capitalists and proletarians, the classes of the post-capitalist society are knowledge workers and service workers." – Peter Drucker, Post-Capitalist Society, 1993
Knowledge worker, a term coined by management consultant Peter Drucker in the 1950s is used to describe the individual whose job consists primarily of developing and/or using knowledge or information. As our society has become more and more technology-based, knowledge work has become one of the most valuable assets of the 21st century.
So much so that new research by Gartner Inc., an information technology research and advisory company based in Stamford, Connecticut, indicates that by the year 2015 the 40-hour work week and traditional work schedules will be obsolete, as skilled professionals become more difficult to find and companies are forced to confront work/life balance issues sought by today’s employees.
One organization, retail giant Best Buy, has already made the move toward a more flexible work environment at their corporate offices. The program called ROWE – Results-Only Work Environment – focuses on allowing employees to decide how, when and where they will do their job. This means that what is routine for most of us – going to the office each morning and putting in a prescribed number of hours per week – is thrown out the window. Instead the only measurement for evaluating a knowledge worker’s or “digital free agent’s” work performance is based on meeting established goals. Microsoft has even developed a new word for this new found work flexibility: MOOFing, for Mobile Out of OFFice initiative.
Though flexibility in work schedules has been around for years and is growing in popularity – 43 percent of U.S. employees have flextime according to the Families and Work Institute – there are pluses and minuses for both employee and employer.
For employees, the biggest benefit is obvious: work/life balance. However, along with the right to make decisions about when and where to work comes responsibility. That means meeting goals and obligations in a timely manner and communicating regularly. Just as in a traditional work environment, performance cannot suffer without consequences.
For employers, it is important to do a test run on any changes to work processes and schedules. This means implementing a program within a single department or segment of the business to see how it flows before introducing it to other areas of the company. It’s important to note how the team works together before the change so that there is a baseline to measure against afterwards. Equally important is training to help everyone understand the new culture.
Another issue that employers may face is the start up costs associated with providing employees with equipment – laptops, cell phones, and such. However, according to the results from Best Buy the savings in reduced turnover and increased productivity far outweighs any investment costs.
So for technology-driven organizations who want to offer their knowledge workers the opportunity to truly control their work environment, a results-only work environment may be the answer. As long as no one minds if they work a 20-hour work week for 40-hour pay.
 |
