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“I’ll be fired instantly” – company policies and results

Nov 28, 2011 » by Robby Slaughter

[Guest post today by Robby Slaughter. Robby runs a process improvement consulting company in Indianapolis, Indiana.]

The other day, I was chatting with a group of people at a networking group. These are almost all small business owners who are scratching out a living by pounding the pavement, chasing opportunities, and working hard to generate results. Most of them work from home, from coffeeshops, or from small offices. The monthly networking group is a chance to discuss issues and connect with others since these people are truly focused on results all the time.

Except for one woman, who works at a bank. More on her later.

Anyway, the discussion turned to listening to music. Several people noted how much they love listening to music for certain kinds of tasks. They explained how particular songs would motivate them. They mentioned how much they enjoy the chance to work in private and not run the risk of distracting other co-workers with their musical tastes. And then someone in the group suggested a brilliant idea:

“Why don’t we all do a weekly song share? We can each send out a piece of music we’re listening to at that moment. It will be a great way to motivate and support each other. In fact, we can just email a link to a music video on YouTube!”

Everyone loved the idea. It was a great way that results-only people could help each other stay motivated. It was fun and social, but didn’t dominate people’s time. And if you were too busy to listen, you could just delete the email without looking at it.

All except the banker. She muttered, “Don’t include me. I can’t click on YouTube at work. I’ll be fired, instantly.“

I am not kidding. She actually told a few of us that she would lose her job by trying to watch a video at work.

There might be all kinds of explanations for this story. Maybe somebody was watching videos excessively, and a rumor developed at her bank about being “instantly fired” for watching one video. Maybe the IT folks have identified a security issue with YouTube, although that seems unlikely. Maybe there are legal issues about accidentally accessing content not licensed to the bank.

But ultimately, no one should work for a company that has either a written policy or an established culture that explains what you cannot do. Work should be about working. It shouldn’t be about trying to identify all of the possible ways in which someone could be at their desk and not be working.

If your policy is that people aren’t allowed to use their work computers for non-work activities that’s like measuring the success of a chef in the kitchen by monitoring other rooms in the building. It’s crazy.

Listen to what people say. Listen to what you are saying. If it’s not about results, it’s not about work.

And, if you want to increase your productivity by 40%, listen to Journey.

 

[Agree or disagree about company policies detailing what you should NOT be doing? Share your thoughts in the comments. Robby will gladly discuss/argue with you!]

  • ROWE thrilled

     What motivates one person doesn’t motivate another.   I like to listen to streaming talk radio while I work.  I recently left an environment where the manager was so tightfisted that she actually wanted to determine what people could or could not llsten to during work. Streaming news was out.  She actually came out and yelled at me in front of another worker to tell me that she noticed that I discussed news breaks with another employee and that she did not want me to listen to the news while I worked.  Her opinion wasn’t based on the subject of the news.  That would be too easy.  She just decided that people can’t focus on news and work at the same time.  Sadly, this is a true story and was just the tip of the iceberg with this micro-managing person. 

    I once worked for a technology company in California.  Their motto was “hire the best and get out of the way.”  I look forward to the day when more managers can embrace this philosophy and the idea of ROWE.   No one should have to experience what I experienced in order to do a good job.  Increased productivity aside, treating adults like adults is just the right thing to do.

    I am no longer working for the company and am looking for a ROWE company in the Philadelphia area.  So far Philly seems to be a bit behind on the concept.  Would love to hear any ideas you have.

    • Anonymous

      Great story!

      I would suggest that you set up a survey for people who for companies in the Philly area, which simply asks “What’s the name of your company?” and then a couple of multiple choice questions that might reveal whether they are interested in results or micromanagement.

      Promote this survey through LinkedIn, Twitter, community blogs, letters to the editor, whatever you can!

      Good luck!

    • Just me

      Does the ROWE really need to be in Philly?  I thought part of the concept was that these days a whole lot of work can be accomplished from almost anywhere on the planet!

    • KellyK

      Yelling at you in front of another worker is extraordinarily unprofessional.  She definitely sounds like a bad manager.

      Sure, some people have difficulty focusing on work and on other things at the same time.  It depends on the person and on the task.  There are things I can multitask well on; there are things that take so much concentration that even listening to music with *lyrics* uses up too much brain-power for me to work on them effectively.  But usually the individual is the one who knows best about how they work most effectively, not a boss making sweeping decisions for everyone. 

      If you can’t focus on news and work at the same time, that will show up in your results (or lack thereof), and *that’s* when the boss needs to talk to you about improving.  If they’ve noticed that you seem less focused when you’ve got the radio going, it’s worth mentioning, but it really should be up to you to decide how you get your work done best, and up to your boss to judge whether you’re meeting the bar that she’s set.

      I will say that if you share work-space with other people, listening to talk radio or having conversations about current events can be a courtesy issue.  (I frequently have to close my office door because a coworker and I are on the exact opposite of the political spectrum, and he keeps having loud conversations that I find irritating and distracting.)

      Then again, ROWE has a solution to that too.  If I’m distracted or frustrated, and therefore not getting my work done, I should be able to go work on my couch, or at Panera, or in the park, without having to justify that decision to anybody as long as I’m getting stuff done.

    • VS

      Philly is definitely way behind on the concept of ROWE.  Try working for a health system in Philly.  I’m an exempt employee but am expected to clock in and clock out each day and if I don’t work my scheduled 8 hrs per day, there is hell to pay.  But work over your 8 hours and no one really cares.  

  • http://twitter.com/PersephoneK PersephoneK

    I’d argue with your analysis and conclusions but I’d be completely making stuff up.  Its so nice to hear this from an entrepreneur.  I think a lot of times, business owners (especially big ones that are now public) forget what it was that made them venture out to start a business in the first place.  Does an entrepreneur sit there and think, I’ve put in my 8 hours today, so its time to shut down, or I need to take a few hours of PTO to go to the Dentist?  No, they just do what they need to do both for their personal lives and for their business.  Case closed.  But somehow too often, once employees are involved there becomes this intense need to control the very things they hated about working for “the man.”  

    The sad fact is that there are probably more employers like the banker’s than there are like you out there.  Hopefully, through ROWE, we’re starting to change that.

    • Anonymous

      Obviously we don’t know WHY this banker believed she’d be fired for watching YouTube. Maybe it’s just a rumor. Maybe she’d be written up. (Wow: being “written up” at work. I could write a whole blog post on that!) But I swear that she really did say this.

      In any case, people are spending energy at work talking about which non-work activities could lead to dismissal is pretty darned unproductive.

      • http://twitter.com/PersephoneK PersephoneK

        Even if its just hyperbole, the result is the same.  People being afraid of doing basic things while at work because they want to keep their jobs (even if its a false assumption).  Today, while I was at work, I clicked on our company website’s job postings to peruse, and found one I wanted to look more closely at while at home, so I hovered over the widget to email it to myself and clicked… BLOCKED! with a scary security warning.  I was being blocked from using my own company’s website while at work.   That’s pretty funny!  And sad.  

        But back to point, unfortunately, yes, people are spending far too much energy at work worrying about anything but achieving results, often because the company culture pushes them in that direction.  And still too sadly, they don’t even recognize the problem.

  • Jan-Derick Nel

    I absolutely agree.  The challenge that I have encountered is that you are perhaps not controlled that directly but you are also not invited to co-create and allowed to help set the vision.  What I see in business is that the entrepreneur started his own business because he did not want to be told but then perpetuates the cycle in some form or other by protecting his domain of creativity and vision.  I think we are seeing transition signs in business where some people and organisations experience higher levels of freedom but fear still keeps business owners and leaders to engage on relationship level, trust and let go.  I think this is related to The Busy Dead Man (survivetoalive.blogspot.com.).

    I would love to hear more thoughts on this.

    • http://twitter.com/StaceyMSwanson staceyswanson

      Jan-Derick:
      I agree with your comments and see it every day as we talk with organizations that are looking to go ROWE.  There are some leaders who cannot let go and TRUST the employees to deliver.  In that case, they aren’t ready for ROWE.  For us, it’s hard to move along- but we want to work with organizations that will embrace the change.  And we know that ultimately, the leaders who are not on board now, will be in the future.

      • Anonymous

        What’s so funny about TRUST at work is that it’s absolutely not necessary at all.

        You don’t have to trust your employees. In fact, distrusting them is what’s so unproductive. Don’t worry about what they do and don’t do. Don’t worry about if they “steal time” from the company. Just look at what happens at the end of the day. If they get work done, keep them! If they don’t get work done, suggest that maybe they should consider working somewhere else.

  • Nathan Christiansen

    Journey?!?!? Wow it has been a long time since I have heard them.

    Unfortunately, they sound so out of tune to me now. I’ve been singing a-cappella for too many years, I guess.

    I need perfect tight harmonies to help me be more productive like OC Times: http://youtu.be/nYOBjUKSXiA

  • Anon

    If she works in a bank, they probably have heavy restrictions on their internet usage since their computers store people’s money information..i.e. credit cards/bank accounts/etc. There are actually laws out there that companies have to follow regarding internet/computer access in businesses that deal with financial information. All you need is some person to click on the wrong link and wham, your financial information has now been stolen. 

    • http://twitter.com/StaceyMSwanson staceyswanson

      Yes, organizations need to make sure that data is kept private, so it doesn’t get into the wrong hands.  But, there also needs to be trust that employees will make the right decisions regarding what they need to achieve at work.  And that’s what ROWE is all about. 

  • Upe16

    I totally agree. My experience and expectations of work has changed over the 30 odd years I have worked. A majority of those years I worked for big companies. The rhetoric can make you feel insane – talk about saying one thing and behaving another way! My experience has led me to this point, companies have evolved into the worst of human nature – coming from a negative NOT place vs a positive HUMAN place. Results rule, not all this other bull about desk time/face time, with the ax hanging over our necks about you are lucky to have a job and all the things we should NOT do.

    • http://twitter.com/StaceyMSwanson staceyswanson

      Upe16- LOVE your comments! Yes- results is key, not all of the silly rules around how work has to be done.  ROWE is changing the rules of the workplace to no rules- just results!

  • Santosh Saini

    The blog was absolutely fantastic! Lots of great information
    and

    inspiration, both of which we all need!b Keep ‘em coming…
    you all do

    such a great job at such Concepts… can’t tell you how much
    I, for

    one appreciate all you do!

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  • ROWE Hopeful

    Unfortunately, I work for a small company that’s a lot like that woman’s bank. About 90% of our workforce is tied to the phone (call-center type of work). Wish there was a way to instill ROWE here, but leadership is too old school. For example, it took over 3 years to convince the CEO that we needed to establish a Facebook and Twitter account (though the CEO has taken away employee access to it from work). I’ll keep praying that I get somewhere with a culture that believes in results vs desk presence! Thanks for the article!