New Starbucks boss Brian Niccol brought about many to spit out their espresso with the information he’ll commute round 1,000 miles from his residence in California to the corporate’s HQ in Seattle. It’s true that he’ll have the posh of the corporate jet for his journeys to the workplace, which the espresso big says will imply he’s assembly its coverage of displaying up for work in particular person a minimum of three days per week.
However are the arguments about non-public jets and company existence lacking the purpose? We must always actually be asking whether or not any employee must be within the workplace three days per week if they’ll carry out the function equally effectively from their residence. Niccol will work flexibly, with a combination of being within the workplace and dealing from residence. In fact, many disagree strongly with this. Funding analyst Dan Coatsworth advised the BBC that in his opinion a frontrunner “must be on the coronary heart of a enterprise, not sitting on the seaside”.
Different enterprise leaders speaking about residence or distant working have used phrases like “an aberration”, “lazy gits” and “morally improper”“, whereas Jamie Dimon of JP Morgan stated distant working doesn’t work for individuals who need to hustle.
That is “flexibility stigma” – the notion that workers working from residence are by some means are much less motivated or dedicated, and are much less productive.
Sadly, this bias in opposition to versatile employees is frequent. In a current consultant survey of employees throughout Europe and the UK, about one in three respondents felt that versatile working was considered negatively by managers or colleagues or that it broken profession outcomes.
Though we noticed these views decline throughout the peak of the COVID pandemic when homeworking was enforced, they’re coming again as extra managers ask employees to return to the workplace, typically citing issues with productiveness or dedication as the principle causes.
However the place do these concepts come from? There may be rising proof to counsel that distant employees should not solely extra dedicated and dependable to their job, they’re typically extra productive than their in-office counterparts.
In my e-book, The Flexibility Paradox, I present how versatile employees are likely to work more durable and longer than different employees. Actually, going again to the brand new Starbucks boss, he already has a observe file of pulling one other franchise, (Chipotle), out of disaster – and is prone to do the identical for Starbucks, the place gross sales have been down for a 12 months or extra.
Quite than proof, these beliefs round distant employees come from one thing known as facetime bias – when managers typically understand those that they’ll see working as being dedicated and aligning with the notion of the best employee.
In lots of societies, together with the UK and US, folks consider that the best productive employee is somebody who prioritises work, has no different obligations, and is working lengthy hours (ideally within the workplace and all the time linked).
Distant working, particularly when it’s assumed that it’s executed for work-life stability, goes in opposition to this concept. As such, we presume the particular person is a slacker. Because of this employees find yourself going into the workplace – not as a result of it’s extra productive or as a result of they need to, however as a result of they’re pressured to or as a result of they need to seem like they’re productive (even when they aren’t).
This stigma can depart distant employees affected by unfavourable profession outcomes. It’s the motive why versatile working can lead to workers feeling the have to overwork or present “digital presenteeism” (spending an excessive amount of time being seen on-line). It’s why versatile working generally leads to worse work-life stability outcomes – with work encroaching on non-public lives relatively than the opposite approach round.
A brand new approach ahead
However right here’s the excellent news. These views should not inevitable. My two papers revealed within the Journal of Household Analysis and in Social Indicators Analysis (with Hyojin Search engine optimisation, postdoctoral researcher at Tilburg College within the Netherlands) present how altering the way in which we take into consideration work and gender roles, and offering higher safety for employees, can deal with the biased views in opposition to versatile employees and be sure that it leads to optimistic outcomes for his or her wellbeing.
These research present how in international locations with beneficiant household insurance policies, the place work-life stability turns into the norm and isn’t seen as antithetical to productiveness, and the place it’s anticipated that each women and men have caring obligations, folks typically don’t assume versatile employees are slackers.
In different phrases, we have to deal with the previous picture of the “ideally suited employee”, which is predicated on factory-based modes of manufacturing the place males have been the breadwinners who may concentrate on placing in lengthy hours at work, supported by girls as full-time caregivers. We have to help the event of a new normal productive employee, the place workers of all genders have obligations exterior work. And we must always change our work tradition in order that ample relaxation is seen as key to being productive, and offering care doesn’t imply you’re much less of a employee, however relatively could make you a greater one.
Related Press/Alamy Inventory Picture
Actually, in contrast to Niccol, the boss of Santander UK Mike Regnier was upfront about taking over the job was as a result of he may work at home a couple of days per week. Regnier stated it doesn’t imply he’s much less productive and, from what I can see, he appears to be proper.
Niccol, if he can present he is a good supervisor even when working extra days in California, couldn’t solely battle off these sceptics but additionally be sure that others get pleasure from the identical advantages as he does.
Who cares in the event you’re sitting at a seaside, and never in wet Seattle away from household, so long as you get the job executed? As a bonus, with extra residence working and fewer three-hour commuting flights, he may assist Starbucks meet its emission targets.
