‘Can Flexible Working replace Presenteeism

Things will have to change when we return to work and in particular, how and where we work. In many people’s eyes, work has always been closely associated with a place, an office, factory, a service centre, regional offices or headquarters.
This perception of work fits the rigid, traditional role of managers who think they have to strictly oversee, control and direct how others perform their tasks. This is still prevalent amongst many organisations, especially in state-controlled bureaucracies, and some of the more traditional, orthodox firms.
Work is something you do, not somewhere you go
Of course, we have discovered that people can work perfectly well and are motivated to work away from the typical office. It has been slow in coming but the old ‘command and control’ mindset of some who prefer to manage others in a formal setting is being challenged. Work should be not a ‘place where you do business’ but a purposeful activity. People do not need to be constantly monitored and controlled.
Replace ‘Control’ with ‘Trust’
The old Dickensian attitude of staff having to display a degree of ‘presenteeism’ is no longer applicable or appropriate. Organisations can reap many of the rewards associated with developing a flexible, agile workforce by adopting a much more open attitude to the management of staff.
We have always maintained that if you have to allocate people to specific locations physically or geographically rigidly, it is going to have a less than desirable effect on their motivation. Further, if you want to build a strong positive culture, it starts with developing a climate of trust and collaboration.
Many organisations in the NFP sector need to utilise the talents of their people better, and there is only one way to do that, which is by introducing a much more flexible way of working and managing workflow.
Workforce Strategy & Work Redesign
Developing such a strategy aims to create a loyal workforce, improve service delivery and improve organisational effectiveness through the successful adoption of agile working practices and workplace design.
Strategic objectives
Some of the outcomes you can expect include:
Process Improvement & O&M Studies
In many organisations, previous Process Improvement studies have highlighted an over-provision and associated reduced occupancy or use of office space. Re-engineering how we work and implementing a successful agile working strategy will generate tremendous benefits as listed below.
Are you still relevant as an Organisation?
This is a real opportunity for the organisation to review its current practices, including its purpose. You may find the organisation for which you worked no longer has the relevance it had pre lockdown. You may find that there are alternative forms of delivery to your customers or service users in which you can now invest.
Cultural Change
Some members of your staff may need assistance and support for the significant cultural changes required on their journey to adopting agile working practice and associated behaviours.
How to do this
Here are some organisational design processes or frameworks:
Summary
By the adoption of an effective and well-implemented agile working programme, significant financial and environmental benefits can be achieved. Also, staff morale, job satisfaction motivation; productivity benefits; reduced stress and absence levels, can also be shown to be improved with a better work-life balance.
You can see below how you could allocate staff to Work-Types according to their requirement to be on-site. Alternatively, they could work from home and only attend the office for important events and meetings, meaning that their attendance on-site would be much more flexible.
Of course, IT or office equipment needs will differ for five different ‘work-types’. Still, huge benefits can accrue if feasibility and cost-benefit analysis are rigorously applied.
Work-Types
Work-Type A - People who spend nearly all of their time working at a desk in a single office location within their ‘team zone’. There is a specific reason for this person to be located at in the office. This work type is relatively rare and an exception.
Work-Type B - People who spend most of their time, (70 – 80%) working in a single office, adjacent to their ‘team zone’. Close to team filing, people would work within the same area regularly.
Work-Type C - Spend up to 60% working around their “team zone” at their base location. They are often at other sites or in regular meetings or are working from home.
Work-Type D – as above but spend the majority (>70%) of their time working in a mobile fashion when required, i.e. for face-to-face meetings.
Workstyle E - People who can carry out most of their current work activity at home and occasionally visit an office for training, essential meetings etc.
Philip Atkinson & Daniel Burger
This perception of work fits the rigid, traditional role of managers who think they have to strictly oversee, control and direct how others perform their tasks. This is still prevalent amongst many organisations, especially in state-controlled bureaucracies, and some of the more traditional, orthodox firms.
Work is something you do, not somewhere you go
Of course, we have discovered that people can work perfectly well and are motivated to work away from the typical office. It has been slow in coming but the old ‘command and control’ mindset of some who prefer to manage others in a formal setting is being challenged. Work should be not a ‘place where you do business’ but a purposeful activity. People do not need to be constantly monitored and controlled.
Replace ‘Control’ with ‘Trust’
The old Dickensian attitude of staff having to display a degree of ‘presenteeism’ is no longer applicable or appropriate. Organisations can reap many of the rewards associated with developing a flexible, agile workforce by adopting a much more open attitude to the management of staff.
We have always maintained that if you have to allocate people to specific locations physically or geographically rigidly, it is going to have a less than desirable effect on their motivation. Further, if you want to build a strong positive culture, it starts with developing a climate of trust and collaboration.
Many organisations in the NFP sector need to utilise the talents of their people better, and there is only one way to do that, which is by introducing a much more flexible way of working and managing workflow.
Workforce Strategy & Work Redesign
Developing such a strategy aims to create a loyal workforce, improve service delivery and improve organisational effectiveness through the successful adoption of agile working practices and workplace design.
Strategic objectives
Some of the outcomes you can expect include:
- Redesigning workflow to accommodate efficiency and effectiveness
- A fundamental shift in delivering to the client customer, citizen or service user
- Increasing employee satisfaction through the principles of trust and cooperation
- Improving morale, reduce unnecessary labour turnover, develop and encourage high flyers to remain loyal to the business
- Redesigning the nature of work to eradicate bureaucratic practices
- Leverage morale and introduce a new team-driven culture replacing the old silo driven mentality
- Staff react positively when they realise that trusted to do a good job
- The key role of managers is to provide staff with the direction and psychological conditions so that teams can excel in what they do best
- Improving services to customers by increasing productivity and performance.
- Significantly improve the utilisation of existing accommodation through more efficient and effective use of office spaces
- Many organisations recognise that productivity has increased significantly during ‘lockdown’ despite people working from home
Process Improvement & O&M Studies
In many organisations, previous Process Improvement studies have highlighted an over-provision and associated reduced occupancy or use of office space. Re-engineering how we work and implementing a successful agile working strategy will generate tremendous benefits as listed below.
- Empowering employees to have a higher level of personal control in delivering their work. Ensuring they have the right tools, processes and systems to do their job
- Improving their efficiency, their productivity, improving and delivering the greatest value to the end-user or stakeholder
- Productivity benefits through a reduction in lost time in the ‘commute’
- Review of the necessity and relative effectiveness of meetings as a forum for sharing information, problem-solving and decision making.
- Morale and motivation will be increased through an improved work environment, which is designed to support different and smarter ways of working
- Redesigning workflow to ensure a variety of suitable work-type styles
- Financial benefits accrue through reduced accommodation and property costs, and reduced staff travel expenditure
- Environmental benefits can be actualised through a reduction in CO₂ emissions from reduced heating and energy consumption, plus the opportunity to reduce emissions from business mileage incurred, and reduction in the carbon footprint generated by the daily commute
- Further, there may be opportunities to redesign work to promote agile work practices, combined with AI or digital processes and digital service delivery. This activity will modernise work practices, reduce operating costs, improve productivity and focus on tangible outcomes
- A new view of the manager as team facilitator rather than mere controller
Are you still relevant as an Organisation?
This is a real opportunity for the organisation to review its current practices, including its purpose. You may find the organisation for which you worked no longer has the relevance it had pre lockdown. You may find that there are alternative forms of delivery to your customers or service users in which you can now invest.
Cultural Change
Some members of your staff may need assistance and support for the significant cultural changes required on their journey to adopting agile working practice and associated behaviours.
How to do this
Here are some organisational design processes or frameworks:
- Senior Team members must lead the process
- The process needs to be participative and engaging
- Full workflow analysis needs to be detailed so you can compare current ‘existing’ roles and activities to the future ‘desired’ state
- Where workstations are still in the office, these need to be de-personalised and hygienically set up so that social distancing rules and decontamination can be robustly maintained
- Records and document management practices which support agile, flexible working will be implemented.
- Digital technologies that facilitate agile working will continue to be reviewed and adopted.
Summary
By the adoption of an effective and well-implemented agile working programme, significant financial and environmental benefits can be achieved. Also, staff morale, job satisfaction motivation; productivity benefits; reduced stress and absence levels, can also be shown to be improved with a better work-life balance.
You can see below how you could allocate staff to Work-Types according to their requirement to be on-site. Alternatively, they could work from home and only attend the office for important events and meetings, meaning that their attendance on-site would be much more flexible.
Of course, IT or office equipment needs will differ for five different ‘work-types’. Still, huge benefits can accrue if feasibility and cost-benefit analysis are rigorously applied.
Work-Types
Work-Type A - People who spend nearly all of their time working at a desk in a single office location within their ‘team zone’. There is a specific reason for this person to be located at in the office. This work type is relatively rare and an exception.
Work-Type B - People who spend most of their time, (70 – 80%) working in a single office, adjacent to their ‘team zone’. Close to team filing, people would work within the same area regularly.
Work-Type C - Spend up to 60% working around their “team zone” at their base location. They are often at other sites or in regular meetings or are working from home.
Work-Type D – as above but spend the majority (>70%) of their time working in a mobile fashion when required, i.e. for face-to-face meetings.
Workstyle E - People who can carry out most of their current work activity at home and occasionally visit an office for training, essential meetings etc.
Philip Atkinson & Daniel Burger