The current economic situation is strange. Inflation is increasing, and at the same point, the employment market looks strong. Prices are rising, but at the same time, employers want to recruit and retain talent. It is enough to make an economist feel like they are being drawn and quartered. What is going on as an agile leader, and what do you do?
It is easy to be gloomy in the present economic times. Forecasts say a recession is coming, and the price of everything has taken a colossal spike. We even see layoffs at companies like Meta. As much as I like seeing Marc Zuckerburge receive a dose of reality, scratch below the surface, and you will see that the job market is more robust than it has been in my lifetime. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are over 10 million open jobs or 1.7 jobs per person looking for work. It is the best it has been in twenty years.
Workers are gaining power and can afford to be picky with who and where they work. We can see this in the public conversation about hybrid work and returning to the office. It also includes the discussion about quite quitting and the equally awful practice of quite firing. When you think about it, the debate centers around trust. Workers want to work to be productive and fulfilling, while employers demand their labor dollars to generate a profit.
Employees want to do work that provides for their families and generates some form of fulfillment. Employees also want to take pride in what they are doing; do the widgets they produce help the environment, are the customers thrilled with the gadgets, or do they help improve communities? I do not know an individual who wants to sell a product that causes cancer or is flammable on children. Workers also realize that with modern technology, they can work anywhere. Long commutes to the office are unnecessary, and saving time allows people to look after their kids and aging parents. I also think it eliminated a form of theater where office workers looked busy to their managers because those managers were outside their doors, snooping on the employees in the cubicles. With the charade, gone employees could do their jobs and be authentic without playing games in an office.
Amy Chow, the former CEO of AT&T Business, this week in Forbes magazine says as business people and leaders, we need to be aware of the “…what, where, when, and how” of work. The ‘what’ is non-negotiable. Accounts receivable need to be collected, sales calls need to be made, and new products need development. Thanks to COVID-19, the ‘when’ and ‘where’ of work do not need to happen in an office during business hours. Not it can occur in coffee shops around lunchtime or late at night after story time with the children. The ‘how’ was always up to employees, and technology makes creating high-quality results that deliver customer value easier. An old line manager wants to control three of these parameters. Agile leaders must respect that they can only handle one of them.
Business people love fancy offices and corporate campuses because they represent the physical manifestation of their company. The coffee bars, ping-pong tables, and minimalist architecture are all a façade to entice workers and customers. The last three years have shown that image as empty because innovation can happen anywhere. It might be time for business leaders to review their construction and lease plans.
These economic times are strange, but one clear thing is that workers are growing in power, which is changing the office. If we are serious about agile, we must respond to the change instead of following the old plan.
Until next time.
No comments:
Post a Comment