I\u2019m a big fan of Adam Grant, Wharton Management Professor \u2013 Organizational Psychology. He has spent his entire career studying how people work, motivation and happiness.<\/p>\n
In an article in the Wall Street Journal by Te-Ping Chen, Grant cited two distinct reactions to the challenges leaders have been facing in the workplace:<\/strong><\/p>\n According to Grant, he urges us to think of this situation as a scientist would. Your opinions could be considered hypotheses and your decisions can be an experiment you run. Basically, keep trying things and refining until you begin to find what works. And that doesn\u2019t mean you are \u201cone and done\u201d.<\/p>\n I spent most of my career with a Fortune 500 company who first experimented with a \u201c4-10\u2019s\u201d weekday policy. We would work Four 10-hour days for two weeks and then have the second Friday off. This was a bit awkward to get used to \u2013 not only for the employees but also for their managers. Each person was assigned to the \u201cA\u201d or \u201cB\u201d team to allow leadership to balance needs.<\/p>\n Did it work beautifully? Not always. Did it improve employee satisfaction? Most definitely.<\/p>\n What about long term? As one example – employees were urged to use their \u201coff\u201d Fridays to handle doctor\u2019s appointments and other personal commitments. That worked well initially, but when doctor\u2019s offices and other service providers started closing on Fridays in some cities \u2013 the policy was not always serving its intended purpose.<\/p>\n This is where the policy adjustments come in. If a policy is working well AND productivity is steady along with quality of work \u2013 the policy is working as designed. When you start to see any significant desired outcomes at risk, it is time to reconsider.<\/p>\n Depending on your generational perspective, you may feel that other generations are just not as dedicated as yours. At the heart of it all \u2013 no matter what generation \u2013 is meaningful work, good pay, and getting recognized and promoted for our hard work and skills.<\/p>\n When you don\u2019t recognize or keep up with changes in what your team or the business needs, you will more than likely default to leading from fear. You will always be trying to get back to \u201cwhat was\u201d instead of looking forward to \u201cwhat can be\u201d.\u00a0Your role as a leader is to keep refining those hypotheses and experiments to continually respond to changes in needs and wants.<\/b><\/p>\n\n
Keep refining as things continue to evolve and work to strike a balance between what employees say they want and what you need for the business.<\/h2>\n