DBR 081: WFH: Don’t Fall For The Hidden Challenge

WFH: Don’t Fall For the Hidden Challenge

Most everybody I hear wants to work from home. I’ve posted previously that most employees see WFH as a convenience and a perk. Is it possible that WFH is not all upside? What if WFH presents challenges to our thriving. I’m all about thriving, so I think you should know about this challenge that Gallup is reporting.

And I think the challenge is one we can face with the proper ideas and techniques. So WFH can support our thriving rather than representing a challenge to it. For the record, I think WFH is generally good for people and good for companies. Situations vary, of course, but both sides save money, time, and stress, so why not? In addition, WFH forces managers to develop good managerial tactics (‘cause the bad ones don’t work as well) which is good for everyone.

What’s the situation 

• Gallup studies Engagement
• Definition of Engagement – similar to passion
• Definition of well-being
• Correlation between engagement and well-being
• Work styles (e.g. “remote capable”)

History of remote work and WFH – WFH a perk?

• History of remote work and WFH
• Programming jobs were first in work from home
• But WFH was rare
• The impact of COVID – universal WFH
• Then leadership changed their minds (again)
• The debate on WFH continues, based on opinion not data

Productivity

• Engaged = productive (most likely)
• The relationship between remote and knowledge work
• When engagement is up our work is energizing, promising, positive. Fun?
• Autonomy is generally considered useful to motivation
• Well-being should be a primary goal of productivity
• So why are well-being and engagement diverging
• The personal factor in WFH
• Anecdote “your best people…”

About management

• The level of “external” management
• What is “external” management
• “Agency” and “Freedom” are good things, right?
• But are they the most productive for us?
• Hypothesis: to achieve our greatest levels of productivity, we need management

Why do we dislike management

• Intrinsic motivation as compared to extrinsic motivation.
• Public goals are one of several evidences of our need for external accountability
• the manager in the organization produces accountability It’s a good thing to have a boss To help us prioritize our work.
• Bad managers: poorly trained and poor promotion habits

Lack of external management in WFH

The challenge of self-management

• The well-being component is probably reflecting the challenge of self-management.
• “Adulting is hard.” (Sigh) It’s easier to complain about somebody else not managing you well than it is to manage yourself well.
• Self management similar to management of others
• I think the data point to this notion of self-management

Good management is helpful

• Management is “support me as I do this work”, the “manager as coach models”
• Engaging life coaching is hiring a manager, hiring a coach
• Growth of coaching is co-incident with the increase in remote work and the increase in knowledge work

That’s what this podcast is about

• Exploring the idea of self-management
• A big component of that is mindset… recognizing that you do need to manage yourself
• The goal here is for both engagement and well-being to go up together
• Let’s take a much closer look at our need for… management (in its most positive sense)