WLP300 Part 2 How Have Individuals Changed the Ways in which They Work and View the Work

In this episode, our guests talk about how their approach to their work and their work has changed, as well as how the view of work in relation to the rest of our lives has changed.

03.45 After an introduction to the episode, we hear from Theresa about how the delivery of her training and consultancy has changed, Pinar tells us about delivering her wine tasting workshops online and Maya reflects on what has changed at her end.

09.30 We hear from Richard about travelling less for work, Bree tells us how she’s changed where she works from and Simon reflects on all the things he’s gained from working more online.

How about what’s at the core of our work, ourselves as humans? How has the way in which we look after ourselves changed over the last three years? How about the way in which we connect with others? Mark points out the importance of “energy management”, we’ll hear again from Richard about using technology efficiently,  and Eva tells us how she’s expected at more meetings now than before the pandemic - although they’re also incorporating more async. Tim and Pilar reflect on how the desired levels of interaction change.

Bree, who hosted our season on Connection and Disconnection in Remote Teams, shares how working on that season made her more aware of her own needs. 

20.52 What about our relationship with technology? Tim talks about how he experiments with different communication media as business leader and Ross tells us how the way in which he works with clients has evolved.  24.34 Pilar suggests that remote work can be a great option when we don’t get on with our colleagues… And that we can control our communications more. Richard reminds us to take a break, Bree has started to experiment with her working patterns 

Richard has also developed fluid boundaries between work and non-work time and Pilar has swapped her Saturday for the Friday. Is it allowed, to work on the weekend?30.50 Eva describes how the difference between separators and integrators is now more visible, Pilar suggests the work-life balance conversation is out of date and Simon thinks most knowledge workers can change our relationship with work - and shares why he thinks he’s “got it wrong”.Mark talks about getting value from his work, Tim describes his new view of his role as a business leader, while Ross describes work as a mixture of insight, knowledge and experience.37.45 Eva shares how her own organisation has changed the focus of how they work. Anish would like to know what people are using the time they save in commuting for - building a new business or career, etc? Are we going to see the rise of the portfolio worker? Tim talks about cognitive consistency between who we are and who we see we are at work. Simon points out that the missing conversation at the moment is about how the working lives are going to be different.45.00 We tackle the broader question of what we’re hearing from others. We start with the work from home experience. Mark has been thinking about the craftsmen working a few centuries ago whose workshops were tied to their homes, Richard has noticed how people have discovered the benefits of not going into an office every day, while Pinar suggests we’re looking for more meaning in our work. Tim wonders whether we’re closer to becoming a “self we recognise” at work, and this will lead to a better life experience. Ross wonders whether we’re becoming different personalities when we are online. 50.31 The conversation around purpose at work, why we work, etc will continue. Pinar goes as far to suggest that the meaning of work is being redefined. Finally, Maya suggests that all the words we’re using now to describe the location of our work and other aspects of it will disappear, and we’ll just talk about work.

Find us on https://www.virtualnotdistant.com/podcasts/300-part2