Dec 2, 2020
“When The Cats Away The Mice Play”
“Those That Work The Longest Hours Are The Most Successful”
“Working From Home – You Mean Smirking From Home”
These were my thoughts and words pre-April 2020. You see, I am from the North East of England and was born in an era where by your boss stood over you, you clocked in and out, you weren’t generally trusted and were micromanaged. We had debated for several years at Precision Sourcing moving to a ‘working from home’ model and even toyed with the 4 day working week but simply weren’t brave enough.
Why? Our thoughts and preconceived ideas regarding work and what is right and not right were deeply embedded from what we have inherited or experienced – from parents, teachers and other work environments.
COVID meant that we quickly had to be cautious and move to a 4 day week to reduce cost due to the fear of what was coming. Working from home, like for so many others, also became the new norm. If I am honest I was fearing the worst. How are the snowflake avocado on toast munching, entitled, modern generation going to survive this?
Well, thus far I have been astounded by the resilience and maturity of our employees.
The 4 day week and the working from home aspect (we now ask the team to be in the office 50% of the time) has meant that people are happier. Yes happier, and due to that they are also healthier mentally and physically.
The gym is no longer a 5:30 am alarm and a mad rush to get to work, lunch can be at the beach, phone calls can be at the park in nature. Weekends can pack more in, connecting with friends, the kids, partners or even doing hobbies and passions that we never had time for.
Ask yourself this..
If you were seeing more of your friends and family how would you feel? If you were able to spend more time in nature, exercising and moving would you be happier? – I am typing this outside right now listening to the wind blowing in the trees (who doesn’t like that sound). Of course you would be happier, but you are also more likely to be healthier and if you are healthier you are going to be productive.
Yes, if you are healthier you will be more productive! If you are productive you are more likely to be a success in your chosen career. If you are a success in your chosen career then guess what? This feeds into your feeling of belonging and self-worth + health.
We have a massive issue with mental health in this country and across the world. This year more than ever it has come to the fore as to how important that is to manage effectively. Expecting people to work under blanket conditions as we have done for 200 years isn’t the answer.
Listening, adapting to people’s circumstances and drivers is how we can create a workforce for everyone.
We aren’t gurus by the way. Atlassian’s ‘Work Futurist’ Dom Price was telling us this stuff many years ago but we ignored it like ostrich’s with our heads in the sand. Recruitment is different we told ourselves. Then I attended a series of leadership seminars with a very talented lady called Vanessa Fudge of ‘Leading Well’ who walked myself and others through the science behind health / wellbeing and productivity.
We may have got this really wrong, who knows but at least we are committing to something different and 2021 is going to be a great case study for us to reflect on.
If you are a high performing recruiter and potentially working for Precision Sourcing is of interest then please message me directly for a confidential conversation.
“A team is not a group of people that work together. A team is a group of people that trust each other.” – Simon Sinek
