Last week Cali decided to sit out on her deck and work (she didn’t have to ask permission or tell anybody where she was working from).

It has been quite hot in the Twin Cities. She was wearing shorts and a t-shirt.

She had her laptop on her lap and other ‘work’ stuff like notebooks, pens, her mobile phone, and a calculator around her.

A neighbor jogged by and yelled out, “Oh – on break, huh?”

There are a lot of work activities that can happen in any location. The shower. The beach. A coffee shop, deck, library or cabin. It doesn’t have to happen in an office building, in a cube, in compliance with office dress code and between the hours of 8am – 5pm.

And because we often believe if you’re not in the appropriate place, at the appropriate time, and in the appropriate attire you’re really not working.

Cali appeared to be in ‘off work’ mode. How could she possibly be working?

The challenge managers will have managing the future workforce is to replace old beliefs about where and when work needs to happen (really, what work should look like), with a deliberate focus on is the work getting done. That includes coming to agreement with employees and teams on what the results need to be achieved, and how those results will be measured.

People are amazingly productive, loyal, motivated and engaged when they’re trusted to manage their own lives (which includes work) every single day in a way that makes sense to them.

Tags: Cali Ressler, management, results, what work looks like, work location