You have to suspect any article that includes quotes like this:
I don't think people will recognize the work force between today and 10 years from now in terms of...the way we work, the people who are engaged in the work force and the work that people are doing.You can replace work and workforce with, say, cheese or paper airplane making and it is as meaningless.
The illustration given about BestBuy is an interesting one: "...employees have the freedom to leave at 2 p.m. to catch a matinee, on the understanding that they will make up the work later." Odd how it is never the understanding that they have already made up the work ahead of time but no never mind. I have worked in a lot of environments and the clock watcher whether boss or employee sorta misses the point in most circumstances. But so does the employer that says "we are all family" as, you see, I have a family and they are elsewhere. Structuring work to get the best result is key. You will most likely get the best when you are doing what you like best or at least like doing what you do.
Is this the coming of the age of management by Gen X - sort of an oxymoron.
Comments
gr - January 7, 2007 12:48 pm
'You will most likely get the best when you are doing what you like best or at least like doing what you do.'
c'est moi.
Will ten years see all my smart gen x friends fahting around the house in their slippers, working independently?
Working Sunday, goofing off Monday, that's the self-employed potter's plan this week, so far.
Gorthos - January 7, 2007 3:20 pm
I watch the clock like a fiend every single day of the week. I positively yearn for the time to leave to come and if Ever I win a gazillion bucks, which won't ever happen because I don't buy lottery tickets, I will never ever work another day on anything I wasn't interested in. Work, is a necessary evil, if not a daily 7 hour long but necessary un-anesthetized removal of a piece of 1/2 inch rusty rebar from ones torso.
Ben (The Tiger in Exile) - January 7, 2007 6:27 pm
Moving to a results-oriented job schema just makes sense.
On the other hand, if this is a move to a "billable hours" model for the rest of the workplace...
cm - January 7, 2007 6:31 pm
I've read a couple of articles about that experiment and am of two minds about it. Much as I love the matinee idea, I require structure and am undisciplined. All I ask for is a 30-hour work week.
Ben posted as I was previewing my post, so I'll add that I'm currently in a billable hours situation and am finding it difficult - where do I bill my time for documenting procedures? Or for developing the procedures in the first place?
Alan - January 7, 2007 8:32 pm
I've done flat feeing, billable hours, value billing and "weighing the file" among other forms. I do so love being in-house as the 25% or so of my life that went to billing, seeking new clients and suing old clients to get the bill paid now goes to going my job.
Gordo - January 7, 2007 9:38 pm
I guess I'm lucky in that I have a situation much like you ask about, Alan: : ... never the understanding that they have already made up the work ...". That's exactly my situation and I love it. The bosses know that I do all kinds of work from home and on off-hours, so if I disappear the immediate assumption is that I'm taking a well-deserved break.
What a cool scam. :-) Of course, IT guys can and very often do work like this.
Chris Taylor - January 8, 2007 12:13 pm
I like the billable hours model even though I do not get to see any surplus coin in my pocket from any extra billed hours. I don't have to spend any time seeking out clients as they are all internal and generally seek out me -- such are the benefits of a salaried existence. But I do have to accurately account for all of the time spent on projects and operational issues -- including non-revenue stuff like training, planning, documentation, et cetera. Takes about 5 minutes a day to log all of the appropriate information in the firmwide tracking system.
The upside to spending that 5 minutes every day is :
1) It gives me a good idea of how much time gets eaten by specific tasks daily, and therefore I can re-prioritize my time when a specific project or task is eating too much; and
2) The Firm rewards 30 people in my department each month for having submitted their timesheets on schedule, rewards range from $200 Amex gift cards to $1,000 travel vouchers. Not a bad incentive to get something done (that you had to do anyway).
3) Never had to "make up" hours since the boss is very understanding about it. For instance the Firm gives us the opportunity to take off early during summertime Fridays; theoretically you are supposed to log the extra hours on other days although my boss just gives us the time without having to make it up. I generally try to make up missed time on my own initiative anyway.
Al is correct, structuring work for the best result is key. Well, that and treating people like they are adults who have minds of their own helps.
As an aside to cm, I would suggest planning and documentation are billable items. If it relates to a specific client then there is no harm in putting a line-item in there for documentation or procedural planning. If it is something that relates to your practice in general or can not be billed to one specific client then you should divide these non-client-specific "overhead" expenses by the number of annual expected billable hours and adjust your hourly rate accordingly. Some people list "overhead" expenses as a line-item all its own; I think that is admirably truthful but perhaps a little too bold. Some clients don't like being asked to shoulder your general operating expenses directly even if, logically, they know others build it into the hourly rate.
The key is to make sure the client knows what additional expenses (documentation, research, planning, etc) above and beyond the normal hourly rate they are responsible for. If that is all spelled out prior to engagement, then you will likely have less hassles when the invoice arrives.