You can only have a thriving culture if you have good leadership.

Those citing a loss of culture if employees do not return to the office do not have a remote problem; they have a leadership problem.

The world of work is fundamentally different today than it was before March 2020. Leaders must have the courage to unlearn and relearn to embrace what the future holds. I have often said that we are being presented with the greatest opportunity to rethink the way we work we may ever get. Leaders with the courage to unlearn and the integrity to admit they were wrong will be our organisations' victors, frontrunners, and heroes

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There is much debate about where the workforce should be located. Unless achieving business goals requires a certain location, you should be able to work where you get your best work done.

Work is what we do, not where we go 

There are so many benefits to both the employer and the employee. At Atlassian, employees saved ten days per year in time they would have previously commuted. That’s nearly half a billion minutes of saved time for the entire workforce since 2020.

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There is a Culture Club forming that cites culture as the reason people need to work in a building. I challenge every member of this club to find a definition of culture that refers to a location, a building, or an office. You won’t find one.

This will be a Culture Club series of newsletters as we explore what needs to be eradicated and replaced to build a thriving culture in a distributed workforce.

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There is a 39% increased likelihood of outperformance for those in the top quartile of ethnic and gender representation versus the bottom quartile.

 Despite the resounding business case and many organisations attempting to improve DEI, there has not been much progress.

The problem is mistrust, fear and a lack of education.

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The value of curiosity in the organisation is at an all-time high. It gives the employees and the organisation an edge in problem-solving, creativity, teamwork, and forming valuable connections. It is the mindset of outstanding leaders.

It’s a game-changer for fostering team unity and sparking innovation. For any company, large or small, no matter the industry, having a team always asking "why" and "how" can lead to game-changing ideas, streamline operations, and ultimately, increase financial performance.

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Through digital technology and remote work, many employees can participate in a city's economic life without actually living there. They can keep their jobs in one city whilst working most of the time in another.

These employees live in the “Meta City” – a web of cities.

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The latest workmonitor: the voice of talent in 2024 from Randstad has just been released.

The Randstad Workmonitor, now in its 21st year, explores the views of working people in 34 markets across Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Americas. It aims to provide an inside look at their attitudes, ambitions and expectations as the world of work continues to transform 

One theme is screaming out from every page for me: employers must start talking to their employees and really listen to what is being said. This is an imperative for organisational survival.

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There are implications when 73% of knowledge workers do not have a healthy relationship with work.

The most alarming implication is thatit is impacting employees’ well-being. When work has a negative impact on employees emotionally and physically, employees eat poorly, exercise less, toss and turn at night, gain weight, struggle with their mental health, feel like failures, feel isolated and more.

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HR know there is a problem with their company's return to office policy. 73% say it is a problem for employee retention.

“Working from home is unlikely to completely go away, but many employers believe working together and in person is a huge factor in creating workplace culture. This creates a tension employers and employees will have to navigate.”  

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Over two years since the end of the pandemic, the debate over the return to the office still rages, and the divide between employee and employer is now a chasm across which it seems impossible to build a bridge. The problem is that both sides need to build that bridge together.

Adding fuel to the fire is media commentary on the situation, which is so contradictory it astounds me.

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In my first newsletter of 2024, I want to reflect on the utter travesty of 2023 for so many employees. I can only hope for common sense to prevail this year.

Of course, I am talking about the return-to-office mandates being issued by so many organisations.

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I thought the quote from Tom Peters was a good title for this newsletter. If you are paying attention and reading all that is being written and spoken about the return to the office, then you will be confused.

It is contradictory, concocted, and controversial.

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The idea that how and where we work will return to how it was before the pandemic is false. Companies may try to go back by demanding a return to the office on a full-time basis, but it will not endure. Not only do employees want autonomy and flexibility, but they also deserve it.

We can only move forward as further radical change is likely, as are new challenges in how workers are engaged and managed.

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Not only have employees been threatened with performance management and job losses if they do not return to the office, but executives are also having their bonuses linked to their time in the office and getting their employees there.

This, to me, is out-and-out bullying tactics

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During the pandemic, companies recruited employees they did not need. They wanted a deep bench and to avoid competitors getting the talent. They recruited people who had nothing to do. Now, there are massive layoffs.

There is an impact on people due to a lack of humanity.

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Last week I explored six biases to which leaders can succumb and be detrimental to their leadership capability. They can adversely impact decision-making, hiring, recognition, promotion, and situational assessments.

This week I explore some more biases, how to avoid them, and how to overcome them.

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When leaders do not recognise their cognitive biases, it can be extremely dangerous, not only to them, but the team, and the organisation.

Leaders must remove their blinkers and be aware of their biases, how to avoid them, and how to overcome them.

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If your employees can work a 4-day, 32-hour week and you can still outsmart your competitors, then go for it. If you can do the same with a 3-day week, knock yourself out. Enable it with investment in automation, artificial intelligence, and productivity skills.

Winning organisations will be those who recognise the skills that will be needed to augment automation and artificial intelligence. These include advanced technological skills such as programming. They will also include social, emotional, and higher cognitive skills, such as creative thinking, critical thinking, and complex information processing.

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A recent study from Zenger Folkman found only 16.6% of leaders excel in both grit and coachability.

Leaders must develop both traits.

Grit fuels determination and perseverance.

Coachability acts as the catalyst for continuous improvement through feedback and adaptability.

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Even though many organisations made record profits during the pandemic when many of their employees worked from home, many bosses are demanding employees return to the office citing productivity as the driver.

The problem is that these bosses do not know how to measure the productivity of their workers, especially knowledge workers.

Some 71 per cent of business leaders say they’re under immense pressure to squeeze more productivity out of their workers, according to a new Slack survey of 18,000 knowledge workers, including managers. But most are measuring what workers put in, rather than what they put out.

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