In the last few weeks, our world has been turned upside down. The world of work has completely changed: telecommuting, which used to be the exception, is suddenly the norm, children no longer go to school but are expected to learn independently (and with their parents), and entrepreneurs are faced with unprecedented challenges. This is what motivated us at Adjacent Possible Network to make our know-how and experience available. We have created several checklists on crisis management and leadership. And we’re making them available to you for free.
Accompanying the Human
In this context, I have dedicated myself to what is dear to my heart: accompanying people in this paradigm shift. I therefore developed a checklist to facilitate telecommuting – for managers and for employees. And I realized that the subject has many facets.
Working at home is like working in the office, except that you can do it in a track suit?
If that’s what you think, I’m sorry, but I’m going to disappoint you. Telecommuting cannot be reduced to a change of location – there are many other elements that will influence it:
As you may have guessed – without technical equipment there is no efficient teleworking
It is true that in this period of confinement, the networks are put to the test. But it is not only the internet connection that has to be good. You also need a computer (more or less efficient for the tasks required) and potentially an external screen to facilitate the work if the computer screen is small. Of course, you need secure access to all the necessary files and software. (Security is a big issue – if you have any questions, I strongly recommend that you contact Florian Schütz to discuss this!) The technical equipment is a prerequisite: once the infrastructure and software are in place, we can get started!
Culture, Trust and the Pygmalion Effect
Corporate culture and management style have a great influence on the quality, efficiency and well-being of teleworkers. This is even more true in this unprecedented period of confinement. A collaborative, open culture, in which employees and managers are aligned on the objectives to be achieved, will foster a climate of trust. This will facilitate telecommuting accordingly.
Do you know the Pygmalion effect? Wikipedia explains: It is “a self-fulfilling prophecy that causes an improvement in a subject’s performance, depending on the degree of belief in his or her success from an authority or environment. What does this have to do with telecommuting you may ask? Let me explain the connection: If a manager assumes that his employees are trying to do the minimum and that they need to be controlled as much as possible to make sure they get things done, what will happen? You guessed it: according to the Pygmalion effect (validated in numerous studies) the employees will behave as the manager had anticipated. Control measures put in place by the manager will create a demotivating environment for the employees – who will indeed try to reduce their efforts.
On the contrary, in a climate of trust, the manager will try even harder than usual to listen when needed and to manage teams by agreeing on objectives to be achieved – not on attendance hours. Employees will be more motivated to organize themselves and move forward in relation to these objectives – I will talk about personal organization in a second blog.
For the manager, it’s a matter of letting go and moving forward with the employees in relation to the work done.
Coffee breaks – don’t you take them when you telework?
Another important aspect of telecommuting is the social aspect – or the potential lack of informal exchanges when you’re confined to your computer, chaining visios and files. This is also why I recommend setting up rituals: fifteen-minute “daily” meetings in the morning or evening (depending on the availability of the teams) to discuss daily challenges, more substantial team meetings once a week and why not a virtual aperitif from time to time?
Work-tele and homeschooling?
This period of confinement poses an additional challenge to telecommuting, “normally” our children are in school and when we telecommute, we can organize our space and schedule as we see fit. Today we find ourselves in small spaces, with children of all ages, more or less autonomous and more or less able to take care of themselves.
In the best of cases, we can share the work with the little ones – and we have to admit it, it is a real job – with a partner to free up time for our professional life. I’ll tell you more about organizational tips.
For this article, I limit myself to one appeal: communicate with your hierarchy! Agree on schedules, rituals and deadlines that are feasible and reasonable for you. In the last few weeks, I have received several feedbacks from people whose managers don’t understand that telecommuting in confinement cannot consist in an uninterrupted presence in front of your screen between 9am and 6pm. Hence the importance of agreeing on work targets! Unfortunately, not all managers are able to listen and hear. But if you don’t give it a try, you’ll never know if your manager thought you could handle the load anyway – since you never said anything…
