It's a Free for All

I have a natural tendency to look at the sunny side of things, even in a pandemic. I don't want to diminish the tragedy and the loss, but there have been some substantial positives that have come out the last six months. Spending more time with family, learning that I kind of like to cook, buying whatever Instagram tells me to buy—and changing how we work at 5+8.

We know what we’re doing.

At the start of the pandemic, working from home was required. Then we came back very slowly and on a voluntary basis. Now, the office is at about 50% on most days. Some folks come in every day, others rarely. We basically just asked everyone to make a schedule that works for them and clearly communicate where you’ll be on the company calendar. And it works.

The only reason I can think of why we hadn't done this sooner was a fear of change. I worried that more remote work and flexible schedules would hurt morale or productivity or that people would take advantage of the freedom. None of those things happened. People love freedom so they work their butts off to keep it. That makes a lot of sense.

Setting our own schedules seemed like a sea change—until it wasn’t. Sarah’s fiancé works in College Station during the week so she works there for a couple of days. Katy loves to be around people so she comes in every day. David jumps back and forth so he can help out with virtual learning at home. Adrian now walks to work because we don't have a set start time. And I’m like, “Why haven’t we been doing this for years?” Because as open-minded as I think I am, I fear the new and find my comfort in the commonplace.

Linda moved to Colorado last month. If she had told me she was moving just a year ago, I don't know if I would have handled it the same way. Pre-COVID, a fear of change and reluctance to accept a new work dynamic could have resulted in me letting go of an exceptional team member. Having more flexible work schedules has changed that. She's only been gone three weeks, but the new arrangement is working great. She’s as productive as ever, and I probably see her twice a day on video calls.

Change is inevitable and yet we fight like hell to stop it. We know the current way is always going away, and that is not comforting. Frankly, it's exhausting. But what’s coming is more freedom for smart employees, working parents, and people who are not interested in settling for the old standard. What's also coming is less control for employers and managers. It's actually just less perceived control, but it's coming nevertheless. This is a very good thing, especially for those with high expectations for their work life—and their life-life.