The ‘five whys’ will make returning to the office less awful
The return will cause friction on all sides, that’s why we need to find the root cause
So how do you solve it…?
I don’t have the perfect solution to this problem (I never do), but I think it’s important to realize that frustrations with decisions like these are usually just the tip of the iceberg, while there’s so much more going on below the surface.
In this situation, I think it would’ve made more sense for the management to ask themselves, “Why exactly do we want people to work from the office? Why really?” And the answer can’t be “just because.”
To me, the answer would most likely be “because I want people to perform” and the logical follow-up would be “and I can’t ever be sure if they work from home because I can’t check up on them as easily.”
Now that’s a trust issue — and it’s an indictment on management and its approach. But trust is also something you need to earn, so both management and employees need to think hard about how to build that trust.
The logical next step is to look at performance. If you’re an employee and can show you’re more efficient and reach your goals faster while working at home, then surely that should be a persuasive reason to allow you to work from home.
So despite the fact we’ve all seen that we can work and be productive from home, I think we should never underestimate the magic that can happen when you get people together in the same place.
That’s why if you’re an employee, you need to be honest when asking yourself this question: “Does working from home really make me more efficient, or is it just slightly more comfortable?”
Now, these questions won’t resolve the issue on their own, but they’re a good start of getting into the habit of asking yourself the ‘five whys.’
Try solving issues with the ‘five whys’ technique
In my mind, if you want to solve a problem, you’re going to have to stop looking at it superficially and look for its root cause. Just thinking about it a minute longer might help, but I’m quite fond of the‘five whys’ technique.
How does it work? You just need to ask ‘why?’ five times.
Why do you want to work from home?
All of these reasons are completely understandable, but using the five whys forces you to see that working remotely might not be the only solution.
These issues could, for example, be addressed with a quieter office space and a rule that limits the number of meetings throughout the day. So you staying at home or coming into the office might not be the root cause, but rather the company’s culture.
But let’s see how it works for management:
Why do you want your employees to come to the office?
‘Butts in seats’ isn’t a solution to not having control over productivity. Instead, just focus more on output rather than hours or being physically present.
Implement a clear KPI and OKR system and make sure you’re happy with those goals, and then when employees meet those goals… who the hell cares about hours worked?
And if you’re worried about morale being low due to lack of face-to-face interactions — or see more confrontations and criticism happening — then organize more events at the office or create other reasons to entice people to get together and interact more with each other.
If we break it all down, I think the primary reason people want to work from home is comfort. And the reason managers want their employees close to them is control. But both comfort and control can be achieved by other means if we’re all able and willing to look at the root cause of our desires.
Can’t get enough of Boris? Check out his older storieshere, and sign up for his newsletterhere.
Story byBoris Veldhuijzen van Zanten
Boris is a serial entrepreneur who founded not only TNW, but also V3 Redirect Services (sold), HubHop Wireless Internet Provider (sold), and(show all)Boris is a serial entrepreneur who founded not onlyTNW, but also V3 Redirect Services (sold), HubHop Wireless Internet Provider (sold), andpr.co. Boris is very active on Twitter as@Borisand Instagram:@Boris.
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