Here we are, more than three years into the return to office (RTO) debates. Some leaders are determined to bring their people back into the office, even in the face of employee defiance. (Google “RTO rebellion” for a sense of how this is going.)
Read MoreThis week has been another of many reminders in recent years that our brains have not been built to manage the influx of information that the internet provides. From the standpoint of history, the experience of having real-time updates about every terrible thing happening in the world is very new.
Read MoreIs there a better way to signal importance to a business than appointing a C-Suite head of something? Maybe not.
Recent ideas about appointing chief ESG officers gave me flashbacks to conversations ten years ago about the need for chief digital officers — and reminded me of recent appointments to chief remote officers.
Read MoreDealBook reports this morning that Walmart and other major employers are starting a heavy push toward requiring vaccines for their employees—just not the ones on the front lines, who are most likely to be unvaccinated. The article cites fears over the tight labor market and negotiations with unions as potential suspects for the half measures, but I suspect a more nefarious motive hides just underneath the surface: the fear of “politicizing” the workplace.
Read MoreHappy Labor Day weekend! Speaking of labor, here are a few worthwhile reads about how work is changing:
Seven leadership styles for building organizational resilience ... and one to avoid
New challenges to the concept of working time in the digital reality
The COVID-19 crisis is a chance to do capitalism differently
In a near universal remote work environment, a lot depends on workers being self-starters, managing their own time, and communicating well about their work loads. The biggest hindrance to remote work is collaboration difficulty, so we have to make up the difference with some intentionality.
Some of these skills will be easier than others for certain employees, but all of them are trainable. And over time, they become habits that create a healthy remote work environment.
Read MoreKnow your business history: this podcast episode from The Daily gives a nice run down of the transition from managerialism to shareholder primacy to where we are now, a moment when both the biggest investors and most influential CEOs are saying that employees, customers, and society should matter at least as much as shareholders.
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