Business
Hybrid Work Is Here To Stay. Now What? (via HBR)
- Three options: (1) full decentralization where everyone chooses what to do, (2) balance where teams choose for themselves, (3) and full centralization where the executives mandate.
- Main issues with full decentralization
- It’s a random mix of who’s in the office and who’s remote (mixed mode). What happens when those on-site people leave the meeting room? They continue to chat at the water cooler, and the remote folks are excluded.
- When people choose days, they typically pick Monday/Friday, meaning the office is crowded, packed, and noisy in the middle of the week.
- Who chooses to work remote is not random — women at home with kids, disabled people, lower income folks. Studies show that people in the office are promoted more often than remote people.
- If some work can’t be done remotely, offer a bonus to compensate for them not getting that benefit.
- Companies that hired aggressively may not even have the office space to bring everyone in anyway.
- Be slow and cautious about your policy mandates; watch what others are doing and learn from their mistakes.
- Focus on output-based management (what people produce, are they hitting targets), not input-based management (are they at their desk typing into the computer).
Do You Really Need All that Office Space? (via HBR)
Offices are typically good for supervision and informal interaction. Having people interact organically is good for exchanging information and building networks, it doesn’t necessarily make them more productive. Some factors to consider for having a physical space: attitude of employees, proximity to clients/customers/amenities, changing commute patterns, office design, environmental considerations, cost.
Career
Savvy Self-Promotion (via HBR)
- Don’t humblebrag.
- Share when asked.
- Share when others are sharing.
- Find a promoter (separate person that brags about you).
- Show humility/failures as well as accomplishments.
Leadership
Dear CEOs: A Gen Zer’s Open Letter to His Future Employers (via HBR)
- If you’re still making the business case for diversity, your company isn’t the place for us.
- We want companies to take a stand.
- We are works-in-progress.
- We want to be ourselves.
- We want to make an impact.
Self-care
The 7 Types of Rest, and How to Get the Kind You Need (via Lifehacker)
- Mental rest: Giving your brain a break
- Sensory rest: Taking time to unplug and reduce our external stimuli
- Creative rest: Doing something you find inspiring to take a break from churning out new ideas
- Emotional rest: Processing your emotions so you don’t have to hold them in, and you’re able to be your authentic self
- Social rest: Spending time alone when other people have drained you
- Spiritual rest: Connecting with something beyond the physical and mental (even if it’s not religious)
- Physical rest: Sleeping and allowing your body to slow down or pause to relax