Why working from home makes me a better person to work with
As the pandemic is over and we have returned to the new normal, I’d like to share why I am more productive and motivated when I’m working from home.
An extrovert’s perspective…
It wasn’t until a few weeks into the pandemic that I was shocked to discover how much more effective I was when no longer faced with the constant distractions of the open plan office.
I didn’t always feel this way; as an extrovert I used to love going into the office and I got much of my motivation from face to face interactions with my colleagues. I was someone that had a reputation for ‘getting things done’ and I largely did this by building rapport and trust. It was (and still is) much harder to do this online. Whenever I had a problem I would pull people into a room and use my facilitation skills to help us solve the problem together. Ten plus years of working in the Agile tech world had taught me to “go fast and break things”. This was acceptable and necessary in order to break through the rigid structures that most organisations had in place as a hangover from the industrial age. Going fast and getting things done worked for me and although there would often be some collateral damage I generally still thought it to be the best way.
When the pandemic hit, naturally I tried to continue my work in the same way — the way I had always known — but it didn’t work. In a remote world, these ad hoc, unstructured conversations were much harder to have and ended up feeling disjointed and chaotic. My ability to get things done ground to a halt and then I started to PANIC. After a few weeks of feeling stressed and unproductive, a strange thing started to happen. For the first time perhaps ever, I learnt to sit alone with my thoughts. Away from the distractions of the office I could THINK deeply and focus. I had never realised how much I had struggled with this before.
I noticed that my self worth increased as I finally had time to think about what I had to say instead of relying on others. I started spending less time trying to get the thing done and more time giving people context. So often in tech we focus on systems and processes. It’s so easy to forget that it’s people that designed them, and ultimately it’s these people that need to be convinced to change them.
My distraction-free time at home forced me to break old habits and to find new ones. I learnt to be more intentional about what I was trying to do and WHY; and to be much more disciplined and focused about how I communicate. As a result I was more strategic and far less reactive. I focused on slowly shifting my habits from telling people what to do; to facilitating and designing a system where people are given necessary context as well as space for deep thought, reflection and iteration. It’s not easy and there are no quick wins but it’s necessary if we want to optimise the value that each person provides.
My habits these days are very different to pre-pandemic — I know that I am much more focused and productive when the majority of my work week is in a quiet, distraction-free environment. I now spend more time writing things down and then sharing with people, giving them the space to comment, reflect and then for me to iterate etc. It is a slower, more mindful and deliberate way of leading but ultimately I think it’s necessary for the complex and dynamic context that we are in today.
Interestingly, tools like Slack allow us to communicate more seamlessly and dynamically than pre-pandemic. Similarly, bringing people together is easier now and actually happens more organically than before (assuming everyone subscribes to the right alerts and channels). When I do come into the office I am very clear about what I will use this time for. I try to use my office days to network with my colleagues or to gather round a whiteboard and brainstorm complex problems. I know that for me, being in the office takes a toll on my energy and can leave me feeling mentally depleted, chaotic and overall demotivated. This is something I now try to manage very carefully.
I fully appreciate that for most of you my perspective will NOT resonate. Many of you will find it more distracting at home with babies, partners or perhaps the temptation to do housework. I’m not attempting to argue here for fully remote work. There are many situations where face to face communication is necessary and far superior. However, I do think that it’s critical to recognise and appreciate that the context for each of us is very unique. Everyone has different needs and a one size fits all approach is a fallacy that will be optimal for some but suboptimal for others.
As a senior leader I want to share my perspective in the hope that it helps us better understand each other and learn more about each other’s needs. As we begin to transition back to the office let’s make sure that we do it intentionally, bringing the lessons learnt from our time away. Let’s be careful not to fall back into old habits but to create new ones based on the current context. Let’s strive to find the right balance between optimising for the organisation and optimising for the individuals, many of whom won’t feel comfortable sharing their perspectives. Ultimately, let’s make decisions based on the appropriate context so that we can maximise the value that everyone provides.
