All I Want
We are in a period of great change and flux and everyone and his dog is pontificating on what the future will look like, be that office-first, remote-first, hybrid, distributed work, omniwork, liberated work or whatever (the invention of new names for work has seen an unparalleled burst of activity, spawning a tidal wave of articles and thought-pieces full of unmitigated bollocks. I should know, I’ve written a few…)
The fundamentals haven’t changed, however. The future of work will still be carried out by humans (yes, I know a lot of what we do today will be automated away by robots and AI and holograms in the metaverse but if it’s gone away it’s not work, is it?) And we’re pretty much the same, jumped-up talking apes who are scared of our own shadows. Our needs haven’t changed and the future of work had better meet those or, well, it won’t have much of a future, will it?
I was reminded this week of a study into this done by Herman Miller (now part of Miller Knoll) where they reviewed academic literature on psychology, anthropology, sociology and behavioural sciences going back as far as they could. (H/t to Mark Catchlove of Herman Miler and Mark C Crowley’s article - both guys are well worth following)
They came up with these six fundamental human needs:
1. Sense Of Achievement: We strive for excellence and to feel a sense of mastery in our accomplishments.
2. Autonomy: We seek freedom in our actions and decisions - and desire to no longer work in one place eight hours a day.
3. Belonging: We are tribal, social beings who require meaningful connection with other people. Given the importance of work in our lives, we seek strong bonds with colleagues.
4. Sense Of Purpose: We want to make a meaningful difference and to know our work matters.
5. Sense Of Security: We desire health and physical safety, but also "social security," the need to feel connected to a team.
6. Status: We seek to be respected and appreciated for our work, and to have a working environment that inherently esteems us.
This research is about 7 years old but the wisdom behind it is ageless. Yet we know that many workplaces failed to properly address these needs, some by a little but too many by a great deal.
For a variety of reasons, of which the pandemic is a major and catalytic one, these needs have once again come to the fore. Whereas people were prepared to accept the shortcomings, to tolerate the impoverishment of their lives by their work, the pandemic has led to re-evaluation and changed priorities as people have recognised what they truly value in life (and it’s not work).
The Great Resignation (or Re-adjustment or whatever you want to call it) is no more than the net effect of people seeking roles that meet these fundamental needs better. In some cases, that is a downgrading of the role of work in their life so that they can also meet their needs through their local community and their family.
And that’s where a lot of the pushback is coming from, that downgrading of work. For years now, organisations have pushed culture as a way to get more engagement (and effort) from employees, as a way to increase the role of work in peoples’ lives. Even now, we see a renewed emphasis on culture as a way to “make ‘hybrid work’ work”, promoting it as the secret sauce that will lock employees in like before.
I think this is futile and a downgrading of work is inevitable, as is a ‘weakening’ of corporate cultures. I see this an entirely healthy development, as employees flex their newly-calibrated sense of proportion and establish better boundaries and limits around their work. After all, you work to live, you don’t live to work (or you shouldn’t).
Oh, and as the the future of work and all those articles - if they don’t show how they meet these these six needs, they aren’t the future. They’re just unmitigated bollocks.
Going Underground
The ‘Great Resignation’ is a groundswell, it is change being pushed from below as people simply vote with their feet. Organisations are having to respond to the reality that unfolds before them and they are either declaring they are moving to ‘hybrid’ working or sitting on their hands and waiting to see what everyone else does. Of course, some are sticking to ‘Back to Normal’ but you can only ignore reality for so long …
I’ve always believed change would come from below. The lack of change from to the dysfunctional and often toxic structures and cultures of today is not due to a lack of knowledge. There is masses of research and evidence as to why work needs to change and how to do it. There are tons of models, case studies, methodologies that could be used to bring in more progressive work practices. So why no change?
Simple. ‘Leaders’ have ignored all that evidence because they don’t want to change. They’re winning as things are, what motivation do they have to change it?
So change has to come from below. That’s the whole philosophy behind Decrapify Work, that employees can use their agency and power (particularly team leaders and middle managers) to effect change in their environment, and start the ripples that will lead to broader change in the organisation.
I advocate using the principles of ‘Be More Pirate’ and being inspired by how the Pirates of the Golden Age achieved big social change.
In particular, to remember that the Pirates didn’t set out to change THE world, they set out to change THEIR world. And in so doing, they released forces that led to profound change.
Me, Myself, I
You can only change what is in your control, which is mostly yourself. This is quite handy because change is an inside-out process in any case, so it has to start with you (this is, incidentally, why most change projects fail because they are inherently outside-in, the change decided above and then passed down to be ‘absorbed’ - only we are very resistant to absorbing it!).
Decrapifying work, being more pirate, these are acts of leadership and they will require you to go through some personal change. You will need to look inside yourself and get to know who you are, what you value and what you stand for. (Again, this is why many ‘Leaders’ are falling short right now, they simply haven’t done the inner work to develop the self-knowledge they need. In fact, they are often resistant to going there).
The approach I advocate is ‘You, Crew, Company’.
The change happens in that sequence but it also radiates out - the ripples you make by changing how you think and behave impact those around you, and then beyond.
It’s not linear, though, there’s a continual interplay and multiple feedback loops. As you take action, you find out more about yourself. However, it always starts with you, as you wrestle with the challenge and the discomfort you feel from wanting to see change but not knowing how to make it happen.
When faced with that dissonance between what is and what you know could be, you can react in four ways - with anger, apathy, action or irony. You have to make that choice and you only choose action if you care enough. Even then, you will cycle through these reactions and sticking with it is down to your inner resolve. (A bit of anger is no bad thing, though, and a big dollop of irony is helpful for keeping things in perspective - but apathy is no use to anyone, imho).
One Step Beyond
Alex Barker, captain of the Pirate community, says that people start their mutiny in one of two ways. They either take a small, bold action by themselves, or they build their crew (which is a small, bold action in it’s own way).
When we say ‘small, bold action’, we mean something that feels like that to you. It might look inconsequential to others but can be a big deal personally for you. It could be establishing strict boundaries around your work day, having ‘disconnect’ times, making a point of speaking in every meeting. The point is that you have taken the first step, and that will give you the courage and momentum to take the next.
Or it could be starting conversations about the things that really bug you about work, so you can start to find out who else agrees and might want to join your crew. Just raising topics that are ‘unspoken’ is an act of rebellion and can feel scary. Until you do it and find everyone else feels the same, and then you can do the next thing.
These are acts of leadership and we need as many people as possible to come forward to make them. So start thinking today about what your small, bold action could be.
For the record, one of my first small, bold actions was to make ‘Decrapify Work’ my tag-line on LinkedIn. At the time it was terrifying, I thought I’d get attacked, ridiculed, shunned or just ignored. Turns out, people love it, I’ve had loads of positive feedback and it’s now very much part of my identity.
I don’t know if it was the first step in my mutiny but it certainly felt like a big one at the time and you wouldn’t be reading this if I hadn’t taken it. Now, let’s keep going!
(If you’d like me to work with you on your mutiny, get in touch and let’s start a conversation)