In previous blogs, I’ve covered the what, how and who we
work with, so now I want to touch on the where we work – my main area of
expertise. This field is well-reported on by advocates of activity-based working (ABW), agile working or new ways of working (a term still used despite
early adopters like Interpolis and Chiat/Day around 25 years ago).
In recent posts I have focussed on how we can make ourselves
more productive by selecting the work we do and choosing who we work with. I
think the next logical subject, before moving on to where we work, is deciding
on when we work.
Only the other day I was on route to yoga (I’m of that age now) and
planned to be there at 6.30pm. However, I arrived late because I hit the “rush
hour” (or more appropriately “slow three hour”) traffic. Isn’t it bizarre that
in an age when most large businesses have offices across all regions of the
world, and many of us liaise with offices in different time zones, that we
still have the 9 ‘til 5 office hours? One consequence of which is the morning
and evening “rush hours”. I wondered what any aliens observing us would think
when seeing us all queuing, in our cars or at stations, to get to and from work
at exactly the same time as everyone else.
In my first blog of the year I shared how we can prioritise
our workload to be more productive. I continue that theme this month, but with
a focus on who we should work with (and who we should avoid) in order to
deliver our work objectives.
As a scientist (yes psychology is a science albeit a
“social” one) I love it when other disciplines can shed light and offer
alternative points of view on my own field of expertise. Cross-discipline input is not
blinkered by groupthink and occasionally it offers a paradigm shift in how to comprehend
and resolve a problem. In the past I have referred to the Workplace Zoo,
recognising we are different “animals” with different needs. If we continue the
analogy of the workplace as a living system, after-all biomimicry is on-trend, and
if we focus on our relationships and interactions then logically we should also
consider the relevance of symbiosis.
It is the time of the year when we sit down, bloated from Christmas excesses, reflect on the past and plan the year ahead. Undoubtedly this will involve a list (of resolutions) which will gradually be forgotten over the next few months. But “to do” lists (or “action plans” if you are reliant on others) are a good and simple aid to productivity. Crossing off a completed item offers a warm feeling of satisfaction, positive reinforcement and does the world of good for our psychological wellbeing.
But don’t just write a list, prioritise the items – which is easier said than done. How many of us go into the office in the morning with our mental “to do” list but the day pans out more like this:
I recently had the pleasure of travelling to Cape Town to present a keynote address at the Dare to Lead conference organised by Green Building Council South Africa (GBCSA). I had just 20 minutes to speak on a psychologist’s view of health, wellbeing and performance; that’s a huge subject area and pretty much my whole career condensed down to the typical time it takes to boil a pan of potatoes. So, I focussed on just three psychological theories: motivation, personality and evolutionary psychology.
Why standards?
If we all lived in beautiful log cabins in the
mountains, then we probably wouldn’t need regulations and standards. But if we
are part of a community or society then we need standards to protect us from
others and protect others from us. The focus of regulations is usually on
health and safety but they may offer protection of a society’s future, for
example consider planning regulations. Standards also apply to products and
services such as improving their quality of products and consistency.
Regulations and standards shows that a society has matured and is responsible.
This blog is based on the presentation I gave at the Workplace Trends conference last week, which in turn was based on a presentation I gave at an Innovation Exchange in Lisbon. The room was full of scientists presenting their latest inventions and chemical formulas, and they asked me to present on how the workplace design could assist them. Well I’m always up for a challenge and an all-expenses paid trip to Portugal.
