Unlocking the promise of ‘teleworking’
One of the great things about technology (especially of the instantaneous ‘social’ kind) is the ability to attend a conference without leaving your office. Which is a salient point because yesterday I followed a number of the presentations looking at the idea of tele-working or remote workers, and did so by following the tweets of people in the room at the time. I have an interest in this concept and those of you who were at the RSCA conference in Canberra in 2007 would have seen me speak about the challenges that work-forces face, and why we were yet to capture the gains possible through teleworking. Six years on, and we’re still yet to do so – why?
As I tweeted in reply to the observations being made, the reality is that we do not yet trust the idea of ‘digital’. Not those who use it, those who manage those who use it. Back in 2007 I suggested that managers still rely on staring at the back of people’s heads as a form of judgment criteria of workplace value and output. It’s a fundamentally flawed approach built on the earliest factory model established by the Wedgewood’s pottery factory in the 1760s and is till relevant today.
A couple of posts down from this one I’ve provided an overview of the V21 conference I spoke at in October. The link to my presentation ‘From Clever to Wise’ is also on paragraph two of that overview and it shows that we have NOT evolved much from the people management model of the 1760’s. In fact, the office layout and functional design looks pretty much the same. Simply put, despite the evolution of technology, we have not evolved the maturity of management thinking to match it. We are trapped by ‘Hairy Eyeballs Management’ which insists people be ‘present’ so that they can be ‘judged’ or ‘over-seen’.
This barrier is the fundamental anchor that delays organisations from tapping into the benfits that teleworking proffers. The remote workforce really can work. And there’s no ‘either / or’ in this issue. Some workers will be well suited to office only, some to remote only and the vast majority will prefer a combination of both. But until Management can mature and give TRUST to the workforce, we’ll continue to drag people into offices via commutes of multiple hours each day for No productivity benefit either side of departure or arrival.
Research shows that the benefits of teleworking can be enourmous to both workforce and organisation. But lack of trust and a model beholden to the rats in a maze overseer approach holds us back.
Futurist Jack Uldrich has posted an item to his website looking at Ten Trends shaping Government today. Although each item is arguable and may be context specific depending on ‘which’ Government you’re looking at, it’s a good overall take suggesting things to do with data, the interenet, crowdsourcing and the like. However I think Jack…
Read More >Sir Paul Nurse has ‘weight’ when it comes to science. His position is the head of The Royal Society in the United Kingdom and in an address in Melbourne he suggested that we need to keep politicians away from scientists: “It also emphasises the need to keep the science as far as is possible from…
Read More >I’ve been thinking long and hard about what to call 2013. After saying 2011 would need to be the International Year of Resilience (much still needed) and 2012 the International Year of Problem Solving I’m thinking now that Crowdsourcing (the idea of seeking assistance beyond your own capabilities from the ‘crowd’ often through social media)…
Read More >There’s lots of talk about ‘next big things for 2013’ right now, just as there has been in past years. Rather than join the cadre of prognosticators, trend experts and (not so) disguised salespeople laying claim to knowing about what ‘will’ be for the coming 12 months, I offer an alternative approach – here’s five…
Read More >Here it comes, the 21st of December 2012 – the last known recorded date on the Mayan Calendar and for years people have wondered why the Mayans never got around to extending beyond 2012. What did the Mayans know that we didn’t and should we be thinking about opening our Christmas presents early this year?…
Read More >As a Strategic Futurist I love a good scenario like the rest of us in the futures community. And where I choose to diverge from many in my field is in the pragmatic applications of futures and foresight thinking. Scenarios left as ‘what ifs…?’ are at best, theoretical. All of my clients and most of…
Read More >Over at The Australian Strategic Planning Institute an observation has been made about the so called Top Ten Trends for 2013 and whether, with deeper consideration, the trends suggested deserve their place as new, or emerging or whether in fact, by relying upon them you might be chasing a ship that has long since sailed.…
Read More >Creative Commons is an approach that attempts to ensure that information in its various forms, can be shared by others for free. That is my take on it at least. And over time we’ve seen some major organisations shape the idea of ‘free’ to ‘free with conditions’ and ‘free for a fee’. The last one…
Read More >Some topics are too big to cover in a few minutes on radio. In this brief snapshot, the ABC Darwin’s Vicki Kerrigan and I chat about energy costs, causes and the future ahead for places like Darwin You can download the media file here: Marcus Barber Future of Energy
Read More >What does a City tell you of itself, by how it shows itself? There’s much to be learnt by noting the small yet ‘obvious’ signs of life in any city you visit, that reveal to a certain extent, it’s ‘true self’. I’ll mention a few cities here but will focus on my most recent visit…
Read More >