Private Sector Insights for Public Sector Success
Lessons from Hybrid Schedules, Four-Day Workweeks, and Handling Boring Tasks
This week’s TL;dr from Good Government Files explores the evolving dynamics of work and productivity in office environments. We’ll look at managing hybrid schedules, the pros and cons of four-day workweeks, and the best approaches to handling boring tasks. By sharing private-sector insights, we aim to provide local government leaders with smarter work strategies to navigate today’s complex work environments.
So, grab your coffee and let’s get to work!
The Coordination Tax at Work is Wearing Us Down
This June 16 Wall Street Journal article explores the increasing challenges of coordinating with co-workers in the era of hybrid work. The term “coordination tax” describes the logistical difficulties and time spent getting in sync with colleagues across various locations and communication channels. Despite the benefits of flexible work arrangements, many workers and companies struggle to manage hybrid schedules effectively, impacting productivity and collaboration. Here are the takeaways.
Increased Coordination Challenges: The shift to hybrid work has made it harder for workers to coordinate with their teammates, resulting in inefficiencies — and frustration. “You show up (in person), and nobody else from your team is there; then you’re on back-to-back Zoom meetings, which you could have done at home,” says Brian Elliott, a leadership adviser and former Slack executive. He’s not alone. The article cites a Microsoft survey of 31,000 working adults where half said they often commuted to the office “only to discover their manager or teammates hadn’t.”
The Price of Missing Out on Face Time: A creative director said her advertising firm couldn’t settle on a specific in-office day each week, so finding face time with fellow employees remains a struggle. Much of the day they are in video meetings. “I don’t find that more productive,” she said. She started a monthly office book club to get more time with colleagues. Hybrid employees who said they struggled to connect with their teams in person were more likely to report challenges in advancing their careers and were twice as likely to consider changing employers.
Efforts to Improve Coordination: Companies are trying different strategies to improve coordination, such as designated in-office days, AI-powered scheduling tools, and redesigned office spaces. “Other companies are deploying technology to make coordinating easier. In May, Microsoft launched an AI-powered app for employers that lets workers share location schedules.”
The Four Day Work Week: How It’s Working at Two Companies
A June 20 WSJ article takes an up-close-and-personal look at the implementation and effects of a four-day workweek at two companies: financial-services firm WBR Group and Charity Bank. Both companies are testing or have adopted this model to improve productivity and employee satisfaction. The CEOs of these firms share insights on how to make this transition effective, highlighting the importance of efficient work processes and maintaining productivity standards.
Productivity and Efficiency: The four-day workweek encourages employees to find more efficient ways to complete their tasks, ultimately leading to better overall performance. As Tom Moore of WBR Group states, “Our theory is that when people find a way to do their job more productively in those four days, that spills over. They’re generally better employees.”
Employee Satisfaction: A shorter workweek significantly boosts employee morale and well-being, contributing to a positive workplace culture. Ed Siegel of Charity Bank notes, “We’ve got a bunch of very happy campers in the organization. And people really treasure that three-day weekend.”
Encouraging Personal Growth: WGR Group encourages employees to use their “gift day” for personal activities, promoting a more balanced and fulfilling life. Moore adds: “The other thing we encourage people to do is to shout about what you’re doing on your gift day, because we don’t want people to be at home catching up on emails. We want people to be doing something else. We want people to be writing the novel they wanted to write, visiting their sick relatives, training for a marathon, having a singing lesson, whatever it is. They’re more-rounded people that way, and more-rounded people are better in the workplace.”
Not that anyone would ever want to put me in charge of crunching numbers, but I’d work at WGR Group in a heartbeat.
Have a Bunch of Boring Tasks at Work? Don’t Just Plow Through Them
All the best scheduling and coordinating in the world doesn’t mean you get to avoid the tedious work that accompanies most jobs. Heidi Mitchell of the WSJ reports on new research suggesting that trying to power through monotonous tasks may harm overall productivity. The study highlights how boredom can signal the need for a mental break and how meaningful tasks can mitigate the negative effects of boredom. Just two takeaways from this one.
Impact of Boredom, Meaningful Tasks on Productivity: Struggling to persevere through boring tasks can lead to decreased productivity in subsequent tasks. “If we try to push boredom down now, we feel the consequences in our attention and productivity later in the same day,” according to Casher Belinda, co-author of the research. The opposite is also true: performing meaningful tasks can reduce the latent effects of boredom on future work.
Structure Your Workday Accordingly: Alternating between boring and meaningful tasks throughout the day can help maintain focus and energy. “When a worker engages with something that’s meaningful to them, that can reorient their attention and replenish their energy,” Belinda says.
In Other’s Words
Take that trip to the beach this summer, recommends Adam Grant, organizational psychologist.
The best place to relax is near water. After just 2 minutes of viewing water outdoors, blood pressure and heart rate drop. It’s more calming to look at a lake, pool, or stream than trees or grass. Beaches are popular for a reason. Wider bodies of water bring more tranquility.
Hire for excellence and diversity will follow, says Alexandr Wang, the world’s youngest billionaire, who founded AI firm Scale.1
That means we hire only the best person for the job, we seek out and demand excellence, and we unapologetically prefer people who are very smart.
We treat everyone as an individual. We do not unfairly stereotype, tokenize, or otherwise treat anyone as a member of a demographic group rather than as an individual.
We believe that people should be judged by the content of their character—and, as colleagues, be additionally judged by their talent, skills, and work ethic.
There is a mistaken belief that meritocracy somehow conflicts with diversity. I strongly disagree. No group has a monopoly on excellence. A hiring process based on merit will naturally yield a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and ideas. Achieving this requires casting a wide net for talent and then objectively selecting the best, without bias in any direction. We will not pick winners and losers based on someone being the “right” or “wrong” race, gender, and so on. It should be needless to say, and yet it needs saying: doing so would be racist and sexist, not to mention illegal.
Upholding meritocracy is good for business and is the right thing to do.
Writer and designer Edith Wharton, the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize, on what causes old age:
The producer of old age is habit: the deathly process of doing the same thing in the same way at the same hour day after day, first from carelessness, then from inclination, at last from cowardice or inertia.
Habit is necessary; but it is the habit of having careless habits, of turning a trail into a rut, that must be incessantly fought against if one is to remain alive ... one can remain alive long past the usual date of disintegration if one is unafraid of change, insatiable in intellectual curiosity, interested in big things, and happy in small ways.
Source: A Backward Glance (lightly edited for clarity)2
Onward and Upward.
H/T to The Free Press
H/T to James Clear