Be careful what you wish for. I always wanted to be a CEO and here I am in the middle of this pandemic, forced to rethink everything. Today’s brain ache is about long-accepted norms about what it means to work hard. When we were going to office buildings, it meant long hours, productive collaboration and getting shit done in teams.
Now, almost everyone is working from home. So, what does ‘long hours’ mean? How does the team behavior show up in our virtual reality?
Look, it’s clear to me that people are working really hard and being really creative in solving not-seen-before problems. But it’s also obvious that those with children at home (is real school ever coming back?) are trying to be in two places at once. I’m pretty sure that still isn’t possible. There is no physical or psychic separation between our staff’s “office” and their children’s “classroom”. As if this stress wasn’t enough, people are worried about losing their jobs. I can’t honestly create any certainty about this.
Which brings me back to my original question. Should we redefine what hard work means? Is it measured in hours? Or productivity? Or ingenuity? And are there new standards and methods for team collaboration?
One thing is for sure. Giving time back to people to have a life is a good thing. Personally, I’m spending my commuting hour learning Italian. Prego!
