01 MAY 2020WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Does Remote Work Mix with

Organizational Culture?
by James Heskett
SUMMING UP: Readers who themselves work from
home think differently about how organizations should
respond to remote work initiatives. James
Heskett sums up the dicussion.

12
SUMMING UP
Is Management the Missing Ingredient in Melding
Organization Culture and Remote Work?
Those who have experienced remote work are largely vocal supporters of
the notion. Its success is dependent, on the one hand, on an effective
culture fostered by senior executives who embrace the notion of remote
work. On the other hand, remote work can provide an alternative to a toxic
office culture resulting from management neglect.

Armando Del Bosque commented, “Organizational culture helps us find

what we love, love what we do and then we can overcome many barriers,
including social distancing with our colleagues from our work teams.” On
the other hand, Melanie Roberts reminds us that, “Charles Handy … refers
to culture as the soup we all swim about in, and that soup is thin when the
‘here’ is not a location and people are working asynchronously and
perhaps not sharing a common ‘way to do things’.”

Those working remotely expressed their enthusiasm for it. To the extent it
fosters loyalty, it may enhance a culture. Betsy Dickson commented on her
move to a remote region this way: “ … my employer allowed me to
transition to work at home … The freedom, flexibility, and … improved
productivity keep me figuring out ways to deal with problems (like an
unsupportive manager)… In the past (presumably, in a shared office
situation), I would have been gone already.”

Joan De Souza endorses remote work in both her and her clients’
organizations. But she offers caveats. For example, it is more appropriate
for certain types of jobs. As she puts it, “working remotely and workflow is
better in some departments as they do not have to deal with the somewhat
unhealthy political environment at work. In other departments like sales
and admin … runs to the coffee room or the watering hole after work
stimulates them.” She finds it “challenging to implement our ‘flexible’
mindset to our clients’ employees because upper management has not
embraced it themselves.”

Remote work can help some avoid a toxic culture. Alison Leuders
comments, “Reasons why I love it include: (1) saving time and money
otherwise wasted on commuting … (2) by avoiding the office, I also avoid
colleagues who, in the past, inappropriately commented on my
appearance, asked me out, or told me to my face that they would never
work for a woman, (3) the flexibility of working into the evening without
worrying about my safety… Trust me when I say that most men can’t even
begin to understand this. Long live remote work!”

Adrian Zicari suggests that the problem of extending a culture into a

remote workforce is not one of technology. As he put it, “(Company)
structures, procedures and culture are not yet prepared to keep distance
work as the new normal … It is not a technological issue, but a managerial
one. The technology more or less exists today. What we don’t have yet (in
many cases) is the new mindset.”

Do you agree with Zicari? Is management the missing ingredient in

melding culture and remote work? What do you think?

Original Post
We all have had conversations over the last few weeks with people
working from home for the first time while sheltering from COVID-19. I've
tried to use the opportunity to conduct an informal survey: How is it going?
Do you think you'd like to change your work habits to continue working
from home?

The responses I've been getting are fairly positive: "It's going pretty well. In
the future, I might like to alter my schedule to include at least some portion
of my time working from home."

Many of us have participated in meetings on Zoom and other meeting

services. Some have engaged in telemedical appointments with doctors.
Social distancing has even penetrated our television viewing: Our favorite
news and opinion shows have been little affected by social distancing. (In
some cases, they've improved, perhaps due to the increased availability of
celebrities sheltered at home. You also see what your favorite pundit has
read since most seem to broadcast in front of their bookshelves.) The
experience is different from working side by side as social animals, but
thanks to 5G, internet, and cloud capability that didn't exist just a few short
years ago, we've communicated without too much difficulty.

It all suggests that responses to the virus may hasten a trend already in
process, that of more delivery of work performed remotely.

The pros and cons of working remotely have been hashed over repeatedly.
Consulting organizations have found that policies permitting consultants to
live anywhere have been effective ways of recruiting talent. However, while
these people may live anywhere, they carry out most of their work in teams
on the road. My concern is the impact on an organization's culture that a
significant increase in work from home may have, particularly where the
culture is thought by management to be one of the organization's
strengths.

A case in point is Critical Mass, a 24-year-old digital experience design

agency based in Calgary, Canada, with 950 employees employed in 12
offices operating around the world. CEO Dianne Wilkins says, "Our
greatest threat for years to come centers on talent." The organization's
culture has been an important competitive advantage for the Company. As
she describes it, "You're likely to meet your new set of best friends when
you join Critical Mass." Much of the organization's work is in teams.

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, Critical Mass for some months was
in the process of implementing a new program for remote work called
Liquid. Nearly 10 percent of its talent now works from home. The intent is
to accommodate those preferring to work from home in the future. Sara
Anhorn, Executive Vice President of Talent, commented, "People want a
different way of working … people with the type of talent we need at
Critical Mass live everywhere, not just near where we have different plans
to open (an office)."

A basic challenge for Critical Mass is maintaining the organization's highly

valued culture. One policy intended to support that goal is to require that
those working from home maintain the same schedule as those working
from an office. Remote work raises questions: What effect does it have on
employee loyalty? What can be done to engage remote workers more fully
in their work? What has to be done to assure adherence to an
organization's values by everyone? Do effective organization cultures and
remote work mix? What do you think?