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ROWE and H1N1

Sep 26, 2009 » by Cali & Jody

Like clockwork, it’s here again: Flu season and the ”what are we going to do?” workplace mentality.

The Harvard School of Public Health recently sounded the alarm about the readiness of businesses to respond to an outbreak of the H1N1 virus:

  • Only 33% believe they could sustain their business without severe operational problems if half their workforce were absent for two weeks
  • Only 20% believe they could avoid such problems for one month
  • Only 35% of businesses offer paid leave that would allow employees to take care of sick family members
  • Only 21% allow paid time off to care for children if schools/daycares were closed

This is what happens when work is a place you go instead of something you do. You ask a business leader what’s going to happen if their people aren’t on site and the answer is DISASTER. Even the authors of the survey couch their remedy in terms of physical presence:

“Businesses need to start planning how to adjust their operations to account for greater absenteeism and to slow the spread of H1N1 in the workplace,” said Robert Blendon, Professor of Health Policy and Political Analysis at HSPH.

Another way to look at the problem is to redefine absenteeism.

In a Results-Only Work Environment, the only question is whether or not you can get the job done. So if your kid’s school is closed or you have to help your sick mother in another state, then those things aren’t seen as automatic barriers to getting your job done like they are in a traditional work environment.

We have a number of stories in our book about people who continued to deliver results in circumstances that would have otherwise required them to take extended unpaid leaves of absence. It’s all about your frame of mind.

It’s also all about planning;

1. Start getting crystal clear on goal and expectations

If people know what is expected of them then it’s easier for them to deliver outcomes . . . even if they’re not in the office.

2. Get the right technology in people’s hands

Even today, we find a lot of organizations that make it unnecessarily difficult for people to work remotely. Time to make it easy. Workers who can work remotely will stay productive no matter what the crisis.

3. Empower them to deliver results in the way that works best for them

Praise (rather than shame) the people who take the initiative to get the job done in unconventional ways. If H1N1 hits your company hard, those “weirdos” who work odd hours and from unconventional places may be the only workers healthy enough to produce.

Bottom line:

If your definition of work is in a building during core hours, then you’re going to be in trouble.

If your definition of work is a series of actions executed by individuals and a group who collaborate to deliver specified outcomes, then you can get through anything.

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  • http://www.robertstinnett.com Robert Stinnett

    In my decade+ in the work environment I’ve seen so many people come to work sick because they don’t want to take vacation time for sickness, or they are afraid of not having that precious “face time” in place. I once had someone tell me that they could barely stand up yet they didn’t dare take a day off because they had been off 2 days already and didn’t want to make it “3 in a row”.

    A lot of times it isn’t a serious illness that strikes most workers, but rather is an illness that does spread rapidly to others in a closed environment. If those people could just be judged on their results instead of their “butt in chair time” just think what would happen. I have no doubt that absenteeism would go down, productivity would go up and when people are sick they focus on getting well instead of worrying about how much face time they have in this week.

    Everything that ROWE talks about — so simple.

    • Cali & Jody

      @Robert Stinnett – thanks for supporting the common sense of ROWE. We get so frustrated when we hear about what companies are doing to help employees understand they don’t need to/shouldn’t come to the office if they’re sick. With the old culture of work in place where face time and physical presence is valued and rewarded, nothing that a company says or does will be successful at getting people to focus on their health vs. being in the office.

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  • http://www.facebook.com/ResultsOnlyWorkEnvironment J

    Today I saw awards displayed in a doctor’s office for a health care provider who had “Perfect Attendence” for 2 years in a row.

    I HOPE that she is just that healthy!

  • Persephone K

    I’ve told this story before, but I remember in my old job being scolded for taking a day off during our busy time because I got food poisoning (and was literally vomiting all day… gross). Technically I stopped throwing up by about noon, so I guess my boss thought I could have made it in for a half day. They essentially insinuated I was faking it. This same employer rushed me back to work after I had been diagnosed with a serious, incurable illness (not terminal). I ended up taking only the days that my doctor demanded i take off and not a day extra. I probably could have worked from home in this case (not so much with the food poisoning case). As an extra example of insanity, I was forced to go into “negative sick time” rather than be allowed to dip into my vacation time because they accrued at different rates.

    The traditional work environment is so full of ridiculousness, I feel a little like I did when I had food poisoning when thinking about it. :)

  • Concerned employee

    The stories I’m seeing are very similar to the ones we have around here. The system is so focused on controlling people that management doesn’t care about you, or your loved ones, being sick. They spend a lot of time and resources on making sure that you remain attached to your cubicle so when the boss comes around, you are there warming your seat. I wish they would focus on results. The sad part is that they themselves don’t have clear and measurable goals so they do anything to give the perception that they are doing something important. That is the way a traditional workplace works. And it doesn’t make any sense.