"I think agreements replace outdated professional norms of I need to be in the office at a certain time," she says. "It's enabling people to do work when works best for them, and as a result, what we're going to see is happier, more engaged teams." She adds: "The performance stuff should drop away ... What you should see more is focus on what is it we're delivering?"
The Covid-19 pandemic marked a sea change in how most people think about work. The mind-numbing norms and deeply-rooted inequities that defined our day-to-day working lives were upended, exposed, and called out for being (let’s face it) what they’ve been all along: rigid, harmful, unacceptable, and unproductive. The good news: Many companies are acknowledging that how we work needs major upgrades—ones that enable real autonomy and flexibility.
Of course, wanting a flexible work strategy and designing one that works for your organization are two different things. That’s why Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans teamed up with Brian Elliott and Sheela Subramanian—the Executive Leader and Vice President, respectively, of Slack’s Future Forum think tank—for this very special episode of Brave New Work. Together with Helen Kupp, Brian and Sheela co-wrote the new book How the Future Works, a step-by-step guide on building a flexible, inclusive, and digital-first workplace. We jam with them on the fundamental bedrock elements teams need to transform and weave future-of-work practices into their present-day lives.
Link to Sheela, Brian, and Helen Kupp's book, "How The Future Works": https://futureforum.com/how-the-future-works/
Slack's Future Forum: https://futureforum.com/
Sheela Subramanian: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheelasubramanian/
Brian Elliott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/belliott/
Our book is available now at bravenewwork.com
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