I was reading Jason Fried’s “The Way I Work” last night and it didn’t take long to realize that I had a new man-crush to rival those of Ryan Reynolds, Bill Simmons, and David Stehle.
When I run my own company, I will run it with a very similar approach to the one Jason takes with his employees. It virtually guarantees you’ll have talented people wanting to work for you. (And tons of idiot’s too.)
“Employees come to the office if and when they feel like it, or else they work from home. I don’t believe in the 40-hour workweek, so we cut all that BS about being somewhere for a certain number of hours. I have no idea how many hours my employees work — I just know they get the work done.”
No, not every company can operate this way, but A LOT more can than currently do. Could yours?
But employees won’t do their work? Easy solution. Show them the door. If you hire the best employees it won’t be an issue. They’ll be empowered by the freedom and work harder, at hours you wouldn’t expect them to. Sometimes in a small organization or team this might mean the others pulling the weight until you find the right fit. It’s worth it.
“We rarely have meetings. I hate them. They’re a huge waste of time, and they’re costly. It’s not one hour; it’s 10, because you pulled 10 people away from their real work.”
There has to be some research somewhere to show that 95% of meetings are worthless. Lets sit at the conference table and tell everyone what we’re working on. I got an idea. How about a wiki? Google Doc? An E-mail? You don’t need that meeting. That one either.
“After lunch, I get a little lazy between 1:00pm and 3:00pm. I don’t feel that productive, so I’m usually screwing around, which I think is really important. Everyone should read stuff on the Web that’s goofy or discover something new. I hate it when businesses treat their employees like children. They block Facebook or YouTube because they want their employees to work eight hours a day. But instead of getting more productivity, you’re getting frustration. What’s the point? As long as the work gets done, I don’t care what people do all day.”
Here’s the rub. If your employees aren’t compensated well, if you don’t respect them, if you don’t trust them, they’ll find ways to waste time. End of story. I think the hour after lunch should be mandatory nap time (like Kindergarten) so everyone wakes up anxious to dominate the second half of the day.
Bottom line, I just thought it was a refreshing perspective from someone who’s been uber successful running a business.
What are your thoughts? How would you run your company? Would this strategy work in your office? Would people take advantage of it? With so many people looking for jobs right now, wouldn’t this be the perfect time to try something like this?
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Elisa says
November 8, 2009 at 10:41 pmWhen I get a business with employees, one of the MOST important things I feel is making sure that they have a way to be fully vested in the success of the company. Not just a warm fuzzy “I’m part of something bigger” but a What’s In It For Me return on the investments they are making.
I wish more businesses would realize how devoted their employees would be if only they had a REASON to push themselves beyond the pure satisfaction of a job “well done.”
.-= Elisa´s last blog ..BlogCrush – Rich DeMatteo =-.
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admin Reply:
November 9th, 2009 at 10:11 am
GREAT point Elisa, and one I thing I think management often takes for granted. Netflix illustrated this brilliantly with their slide deck, which I’m sure you’ve seen by now. And with our generation, a review every few months for feedback would also be nice. 🙂
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Rich DeMatteo says
November 9, 2009 at 1:05 amGreat post!
This is exactly how I wish to be treated, and how I would treat employees if I ran a business. I’ve been lucky enough to have worked in an environment like Jason’s.
My previous employer was a global software company, and I was working as a Corporate Recruiter for them, responsible for hiring staff in all of our US offices. I was the lone recruiter for the US on the HR team, and my boss was a Chicago resident. When I first started working at the company it was tightly ran. Hours were 8-5, no exceptions. The position was a great opportunity, so the strict hours didn’t bother me. Shortly after I was hired, a new VP of HR was hired who brought in a flexible work/accountability program.
Flexibility really depended on the position, and approval from manager. For example, customer support would obviously have less flexibility than most others in the company. The changes he brought were absolutely wonderful for me. Many hiring managers knew I was working at home some nights at 9 or 10pm. This is when they would receive resumes in bulk from me. I had a reputation around the company of working hard at home, and honestly at home is where I did my best ‘recruiting’.
When the new VP of HR arrived, I slowly eased into the changes. If I was done my work at 2pm, I would leave and bring my laptop home in case of an HR emergency. 95% of the time I left before 4:30, even if I wasn’t done. I’d bring the laptop home and finish that night. As long there were no meetings or interviews that day, than I could work from home.
Like you mentioned, this environment won’t work for every organization. When it can be implemented though, it’s absolutely wonderful. Employees feel like they are being treated like professionals. When you hire the right people, they will get the job done in any environment. Whether they work 30, 40, or 50 hours per week. But when you show a professional respect, it can go a long way in terms of their production and overall satisfaction with their employer.
.-= Rich DeMatteo´s last blog ..Unemployed and forgotten? Senate (finally) extends unemployment 14-20 weeks =-.
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admin Reply:
November 9th, 2009 at 2:30 pm
Perfectly stated Rich, “…this environment won’t work for every organization. When it can be implemented though, it’s absolutely wonderful. Employees feel like they are being treated like professionals. When you hire the right people, they will get the job done in any environment. Whether they work 30, 40, or 50 hours per week. But when you show a professional respect, it can go a long way in terms of their production and overall satisfaction with their employer.”
If you want to mix in a nap because you’re feeling unproductive after work, who cares? As long as you make it up later in the evening after dinner. Shouldn’t management want you to work when you’re most productive?
I worked from home for a week this year, and I had far and away my most productive week of the year. Not only was I significantly less distracted (I still worked 7:30am-4:30pm mind you), but I also answer e-mails and did additional work in the evenings.
Why?
Because I wasn’t burned out from the day. When I felt tired during the day, I’d go for a walk, go to the fridge, check the mail, etc. At the office I’d be expected to sit and stare at my computer while feeling unproductive. What does that accomplish?
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Rich DeMatteo Reply:
November 9th, 2009 at 3:00 pm
You really hit a strong belief of mine with this post. The opportunity that I’m starting in December is very entrepreneurial and I’m very excited, but it’s not an opportunity that brings a wealth of flexibility. I’m going to make big time sacrifices, and hopefully in a couple years I will feel proud of the accomplishment and be able to set aside more time for me!
To your point, being free to go for a walk, go through the mail, play with a pet, or do whatever you’d like for 5-10 minutes greatly helps decrease burn out. 100% agree with you. We shouldn’t forget about commute time, to and from the place of work. Very draining, especially when you know you’ll be stuck somewhere for 7-9 or so hours.
And if you are working at home and decide to put on the TV for 10 minutes what’s the big deal? Is there a difference between a 10 minute TV break and a 10 minute cigarette break that people take. Not to generalize, but many smokers are usually taking 5-6 smoke breaks a day (maybe more). That can turn out to be a good hour of time away from the desk. Non-smokers should be allowed oxygen breaks at work, and people working from home should be able to take any break they’d like. Complete the work, and take your breaks!
.-= Rich DeMatteo´s last blog ..Unemployed and forgotten? Senate (finally) extends unemployment 14-20 weeks =-.
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Justin Boone says
November 9, 2009 at 9:54 amComment also on Brazen Careerist…
Hi Ryan,
Great blog post! I might have to take a look at this book, as well. Thanks for sharing it with the rest of us.
I couldn’t agree more with the first point regarding time and location. When I was as a college representative with Warner/Elektra/Atlantic, I was in a situation much like the one Jason describes. I worked remotely in Pittsburgh, on my own hours, using my own apartment as an office. My time was not micro-managed by any higher authority. Sure, I was just an intern and this was the way the program had to be designed by necessity, but regardless–it worked.
The director of the program selected interns who she knew would work well in this type of structure. We were all highly ambitious, self-motivated individuals, who were passionate about our work and good managers in terms of how we structured our professional priorities and objectives. As a result, we all balanced our work and school accordingly and gave the best possible results on every assignments. We were excellent communicators, honest about time conflicts, work-load issues and deadlines. I know from my personal experience, I was passionate about my work, because I was able to be in control, and therefore, personally invested in my efforts.
I should mention here, that a year or so into my time as a college rep, I spent a summer interning directly for the director of the program in the corporate offices. There, I spent time assisting with program management, mentoring and working with college reps, recruiting, training and educating new reps, and gaining valuable insight into the inner-operations of the company. I learned a lot working in that office. Also, on the phone with reps, I learned how well the program worked for them, and as a result, what the benefits were to the company at large.
Sorry for the long comment, but ultimately, I guess I’m just trying to say, that from first-hand experience, I know this idea works–and works well. If I have a chance to start my own company someday, I will use this experience to organize my own internal employee structure.
It’s exciting to know when something works, and it inspires you to work harder as a result. Thanks for touching on this issue.
Justin
.-= Justin Boone´s last blog ..A facelift thanks to Thesis =-.
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admin Reply:
November 9th, 2009 at 10:05 am
@Justin – I’m with you Justin. Anytime I’ve encountered an experience like this or ambitious people who have worked in a similar environment, they’ve taken pride in their work and usually done MORE than grinding in a 9 to 5.
With technology these days (and even using 37 Signals’ products) there’s no excuse for some companies not to move to this model. At the very least it’d cut down on office expenses.
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Jackie Adkins says
November 9, 2009 at 12:07 pmI agree and would love to be a part of a company run like this. Who cares when (or where) the work gets done as long as it gets done by the time it needs to be done. If you can’t handle that responsibility, laterz.
Yea I just repeated everything you wrote, but would like to add extra emphasis on the awesomeness of the idea. That’s all.
.-= Jackie Adkins´s last blog ..1+1=Analogous Friday! =-.
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admin Reply:
November 9th, 2009 at 2:22 pm
Thanks for the reiteration J-Money. Do you think this is predominantly our generation that feels this way? Or most employees in the work force?
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Ryan says
November 9, 2009 at 2:10 pmGood post Ryan.
The reason more companies don’t go into this type of lifestyle is as you mentioned above, that employers need to have a trust in their employees and if not, get rid of them.
However, I still love to work in an office when I need to plow out some work. Working in groups to figure out a problem is something that I miss when I’m working at home. Creativity is often found working through a new idea in groups, so where does that go? You cannot completely simulate that via the internet.
As much as I think workshifting is great, there still has to be some interaction for things to function at tip-top-shape.
.-= Ryan´s last blog ..A Light Bulb Moment =-.
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admin Reply:
November 9th, 2009 at 2:21 pm
@Ryan – It really probably depends on employee’s disposition as well. I’m very easily distracted so if you put me in an open office environment, I can assure you that I’ll get significantly less work done than from the comfort of the office in my apt.
It’s like a good coach. You have to know your players. To get the best out of one guy you might have to yell, to get the best out of another you might just need to pat him on the butt. Perhaps it’s the same way in the office. Let employees earn (and/or prove) what the best working environment to work in.
I agree that there are times when you need group work, but can’t you do that via Google Wave? A Doc? A Wiki? A few cell phones? Maybe not quite the substitute for sitting around a conference room, but certainly not impossible either.
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Ryan Reply:
November 10th, 2009 at 9:00 am
Even if we do things via googlewave, a wiki, for me there is no substitute for interaction. When you talk to someone in the online space forever, but you then connect with them IRL, it makes a difference.
I’m not calling for meetings every day, but if one a week everyone comes into an office setting to hammer out some things it’s worth it.
Trust me, every one of the 5 things I do now is ‘virtual’ and at home, but with all of those I make sure that for a portion of every week we get together and meet face to face.
A face to face meeting can yield the same results that a few hours of emails can. Just works better for me in my situation.
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Grace Boyle says
November 11, 2009 at 11:00 amI like what Jason has to say. I believe in the ‘hours’ piece because you should be looked at for the quality of your work and getting it done, versus clocking in and out and being at the ‘office’ a certain amount of time.
Just like my friend who had the video cameras installed at her office and they blocked other sites (Facebook, etc.) she’s unhappy at her office. She’s a top performer, it’s not as though she will slack off but the little things that help you get by or take a little time to breathe are important.
.-= Grace Boyle´s last blog ..On Originality, Blogging Content and Copying =-.
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Beth says
November 11, 2009 at 4:10 pmGreat post as always. I definitely will keep the look-out for this book. It looks really valuable. I always think about what I would do if I ran my own company. I think one of the biggest things I would also do – in addition to many of the things that you have already highlighted – is to ensure consistent communication on projects.
For example, if a person has contributed in any way to the success of a project, that person should be notified and included in the celebration – even if they were just the ones that stuffed the envelopes. It really helps keep people motivated and also smart about what it is that they are doing.
Great post!
.-= Beth´s last blog ..Laziness. The Devil’s Quality? =-.
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