Humans Are Not Robots

September 21, 2020
The way people work today isn’t working, argues consultant Hawkins in this persuasive study that examines why and how to change it. The modern office, he argues, enforces rigid schedules and rules in a way that might be well-suited for robots, but is a disaster for humans’ mental and physical health. “It’s not right to feel terrible and exhausted on a daily basis, to crave weekends, and to turn a desperate shade of blue every time Sunday night arrives,” Hawkins writes. The author believes most industries, beyond certain obvious exceptions such as ER physicians, can and should embrace flexibility of working schedules and of location. He recommends management think bigger than occasional remote work or job-sharing, including “results-only work environments,” in which employees “can work whenever and wherever and however they choose, as long as they’re producing what’s expected of them,” or annualized hours, which means working a set number of hours with “the freedom to choose when those hours are worked.” Hawkins also urges trying out different models, being transparent about expectations, and making sure employees know their well-being comes first. Well-timed given the pervasiveness of remote work during the pandemic, Hawkins’s persuasive call to action will resonate with business leaders trying to imagine their way through the postlockdown era.