Benefits can outweigh drawbacks in new workplace reality
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The Covid-19 pandemic has modernised thinking about the workplace. The notion that “work” is something you do and not a place you go to is a major mindshift that is setting in.
In his book Maverick, Ricardo Semler describes an unusual workplace that, in 1993, was far ahead of its time. Now, in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic and fourth industrial revolution, that workplace suddenly makes sense.
Semler, a Brazilian business person, transformed a small family-owned manufacturing company, Semco, into one of Brazil’s largest conglomerates thanks to his unorthodox approach to the workplace.
Semco encouraged employees to work from home where possible. Fully fledged flexitime was introduced without any working hours being prescribed — it was flexible to the extent that even production teams could determine their own working hours; annual leave of 30 days was compulsory to enhance health and increase productivity; and factory workers were allowed to introduce adjusted production targets to increase their income.
To counterbalance all these freedoms a zero-tolerance approach to dishonesty was followed, salaries ranged between 75% and 125% of a basic salary, depending on the company’s profitability, and there was no guarantee of job security.
Though the current practice of working from home came about as the result of health concerns, this commonality with the Semco approach will become part of the new normal at many workplaces after Covid-19, but also because we are entering the era of the virtual workplace, with Generation Z as the new employees.
In this new workplace reality, increased productivity will be vital for a sustainable business. Leading mobile phone and pension fund companies, as well as banks. have already indicated that their sales performance and customer satisfaction have increased since remote working was implemented, and this can be attributed to the fact that employees have been working from home.
While burnout is a risk, employees who work from home may be motivated to work harder to justify the practice and possibly also because workplace-related disruptions and time spent on travel can be converted into productive time. A progressive company such as Capitec has already informed its employees that a flexible work environment is part of its future planning, while Facebook and Twitter have introduced remote working on a permanent basis worldwide.
Remote working has advantages and disadvantages for employer and employee alike, which must be thought through. Abuse of the freedom to work from home, a ...
In his book Maverick, Ricardo Semler describes an unusual workplace that, in 1993, was far ahead of its time. Now, in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic and fourth industrial revolution, that workplace suddenly makes sense.
Semler, a Brazilian business person, transformed a small family-owned manufacturing company, Semco, into one of Brazil’s largest conglomerates thanks to his unorthodox approach to the workplace.
Semco encouraged employees to work from home where possible. Fully fledged flexitime was introduced without any working hours being prescribed — it was flexible to the extent that even production teams could determine their own working hours; annual leave of 30 days was compulsory to enhance health and increase productivity; and factory workers were allowed to introduce adjusted production targets to increase their income.
To counterbalance all these freedoms a zero-tolerance approach to dishonesty was followed, salaries ranged between 75% and 125% of a basic salary, depending on the company’s profitability, and there was no guarantee of job security.
Though the current practice of working from home came about as the result of health concerns, this commonality with the Semco approach will become part of the new normal at many workplaces after Covid-19, but also because we are entering the era of the virtual workplace, with Generation Z as the new employees.
In this new workplace reality, increased productivity will be vital for a sustainable business. Leading mobile phone and pension fund companies, as well as banks. have already indicated that their sales performance and customer satisfaction have increased since remote working was implemented, and this can be attributed to the fact that employees have been working from home.
While burnout is a risk, employees who work from home may be motivated to work harder to justify the practice and possibly also because workplace-related disruptions and time spent on travel can be converted into productive time. A progressive company such as Capitec has already informed its employees that a flexible work environment is part of its future planning, while Facebook and Twitter have introduced remote working on a permanent basis worldwide.
Remote working has advantages and disadvantages for employer and employee alike, which must be thought through. Abuse of the freedom to work from home, a ...
