Real Reason Companies Don’t Want You To Work From Home?

From this article: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/news/working-from-home-is-the-future-5097042/

“Managers who set clear goals for what employees should accomplish in a given time period (whether it’s a week, month, quarter, or year) and regularly check in on progress against those goals “

Is the real reason you can’t work from home because some comapnies can’t set clear goals nor check in on progress? Are those companies measuring performance? Or just winging it?

Culture trumps process, every time.  Go along or lead.  Good to great starts with one leader.  Call To Action.  Managers.  We need to do better.


PS. This post was actually drafted on February 21, 2020. Now, with COVID-19 and shelter at home, this topic has taken a new meaning.

I spoke to a few colleagues today on different fronts that had an interesting take on “working from home”. Let’s explore a few notables:

3. VPN Technology is “flying off the shelves”. Many SMB companies were not prepared for large percentages of workforce to work from home. Interesting. VPN has been around for awhile, true. But I bet companies weren’t buying licenses to cover 90% of their workforce. Unlike toilet paper, plenty of VPN licenses availble to be purchased…

2. Old school leaders are coming to grips with work from home. Begrudlingly admitting it is working, but still prefer the office. I suspect there is truth in that statement. It’s less about “better collaboration” and maybe more about senior leaders like being in the office. So, everyone else should too! Hmmm…

1. Home networks may not be ready for work from home. It started innocently with headsets. But the ask has expanded to dual monitors, docking stations, and … subsidize my Internet! Working from home on my slow as hell 50MB isn’t cutting it. Should companies allow the equipment to go home? Pay for a percent of Internet usage? Consensus is no. No budget to equip home users this way.

All that said… as of April 1, any progress being made by managers setting clear goals? Measuring for employee performance? Status quo or WFH improving culture?

Last note: In March, I worked from home for two weeks and lost 5 pounds. Went back to work for one day, gained 2 pounds. Came back home, worked two more days at home, lost 2. Scientific evidence WFH is healthier for me?

\\ JMM

Blowing the Whistle…

Great leaders encourage dissent, welcome whistleblowing and encourage contrasting points of view.  Weak leaders demand blind obedience and threaten those who would dare point out any shortcomings or question their decisions.” – Robert Glazer, CEO, Acceleration Partners

This statement reasonated on two fronts:

First, the importance of leaders pushing team engagement. Academic debate is key to my teams’ success. Not just explaining the why. Getting the team to buy in on the why and carry the message.

Second, I would bet most seasoned leaders have encountered this scenario and faced a similiar decision: Speak up and possibly lose your job OR stay quiet, stay safe, and protect the bad decision. Risking being seen as a political pariah or worse, loss of financial safety. Especially as we get older.

Read the whole article here: https://www.robertglazer.com/friday-forward/value-of-whistleblowers/

\\ JMM