![\"A](\"http:\/\/workn.net.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/nap-pod.jpg\")
<\/a>A ‘nap pod’in use at Google<\/p><\/div>\n
Views on how we should employ each other is one of the very hottest topics. \u00a0Google, Apple, Facebook are all setting the new industry ‘norms’ for employment. \u00a0 For Steve Jobs it was about how you hire<\/a>, for Mark Zuckerburg it’s about how you inspire<\/a>, for Microsoft it’s\u00a0hot-desking<\/a>, for Google it’s about company culture – driven by ‘nap pods’<\/a>,\u00a0\u00a0‘free food’, rental cars and on-site day-care<\/a>. \u00a0 Richard Branson, although frankly lacking in quite the same level of\u00a0‘silicon valley cool’,\u00a0has also \u00a0been continually\u00a0vocal on how the workplace should be, advocating unlimited annual leave<\/a>,\u00a0and zero restriction on\u00a0working from home<\/a>.<\/p>\n In theory, it’s great to look at these industry giants for innovative practice, but in my opinion a little bit of realism is needed before applying these practices\u00a0into standard workplaces with an expectation that they will be effective. \u00a0The simple fact is that\u00a0what these companies have in common is that they are hugely\u00a0 popular to work for: \u00a0Facebook and Google each report having over 250,000\u00a0job applicants per year. \u00a0Forgive me for cynicism, but when you hand-pick your workforce from a pool of a quarter of a million of the world’s most talented and ambitious, is there really much of a challenge keeping these people productive and happy? \u00a0These companies could probably introduce the ‘upside down, electricity free office with hologramatic furniture’ and still get the results they require. \u00a0 \u00a0These trendy\u00a0management\u00a0\u00a0innovations fail to acknowledge that in the industries most of us operate within (let’s call it “the real world”), a lot\u00a0of the workforce would rather not come to work if they didn’t have to, and almost all of us would be a little happier doing slightly less each day than is currently expected of us\u00a0while\u00a0we are here. \u00a0 There’s nothing shameful in admitting this,\u00a0 it is after all why we get paid. \u00a0Managing these staff scenarios\u00a0is the real paradigm, and most\u00a0of the time the solutions are very firmly ‘inside the square’.<\/p>\n The open plan google office<\/p><\/div>\n In fact\u00a0the office layout innovations have\u00a0already been thoroughly discredited now in terms of productivity and staff happiness. The Washington Post\u00a0had this<\/a> to say about the open plan, while the Sydney Morning Herald had this<\/a> on ‘hot desking.’ \u00a0It doesn’t take a Steve Jobs or Mark Zuckerberg sized intellect to see that the saving in\u00a0real estate cost is the\u00a0real driving force behind these measures. \u00a0But it also comes down to the nature of the work done. \u00a0Not every workplace is seeking large amounts of innovation or extroverted collaboration. \u00a0In my firm, \u00a0I am not\u00a0really looking for\u00a0my legal staff to ‘innovate’, shout their ideas across the office, or graffiti the walls with inspirational statements. \u00a0 I would prefer\u00a0them to ‘concentrate’ on the tasks they are assigned, which is not best achieved cramped onto a shared worktop\u00a0while someone plays ping-pong 50cm from their head. \u00a0There’s also the very real danger that far from encouraging collaboration and equality, these systems result in the type of school-yard ‘survival of the fittest’\u00a0which is a breeding ground for a variety of workplace problems. \u00a0 This Chloe Taylor article gives a great example<\/a> of what can go wrong.<\/p>\n Pic via HC Magazine<\/p><\/div>\n But with the more trivial benefits, ask any hospitality operator how an unlimited\u00a0‘free food’ policy would work for them, or retail operator whether they would\u00a0consider installing a ‘nap pod’ for the use of sales assistants in each of their stores. \u00a0In the “real world”, where the benefits and remuneration available to employees is generally far below their expectations or desires, these types of luxuries are ridiculous. \u00a0It’s\u00a0almost insulting to talk about them seriously.<\/p>\n Looking to the innovators for ideas in the abstract is always a great idea. \u00a0But a hefty pinch of salt is needed before putting it into practice at work.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" When it comes to business practices and innovation – the loudest opinions, not surprisingly, come from business innovators and successful entrepreneurs. \u00a0The ability to think ‘outside the square’ is generally the thing that has made them successful. \u00a0 When they publicize their\u00a0ideas, the business community are quick to promote\u00a0them automatically\u00a0as the new paradigm – what’s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":193,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[236],"tags":[52,51,50,49,53,48],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/workn.net.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/185"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/workn.net.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/workn.net.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/workn.net.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/workn.net.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=185"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/workn.net.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/185\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8926,"href":"https:\/\/workn.net.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/185\/revisions\/8926"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/workn.net.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/193"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/workn.net.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=185"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/workn.net.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=185"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/workn.net.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=185"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/a><\/a><\/a>But Branson’s concepts are a little more disingenuous. \u00a0In talking about his ‘smart’ and ‘simple’<\/a> solution, he’s never gone on record to explain why his\u00a0annual leave scheme only applies to his ‘personal staff’ – (his executive team of 170). \u00a0I’m fairly certain that Sir Richard is aware that\u00a0if he gave\u00a0his\u00a0Virgin Airlines Baggage handlers (for example) unlimited annual leave without keeping track of it, or invited them to work from home any time they liked, there would be significant impacts on productivity. \u00a0 In fact he knows that it’s only among\u00a0the highly competitive and ambitious of his team that a\u00a0self-managed annual leave scheme will keep annual leave\u00a0at\u00a0acceptable levels, it may even reduce. \u00a0\u00a0In\u00a0competitive\u00a0executive circles, there has\u00a0always been a ‘badge of honour’\u00a0in refusing to take personal leave. \u00a0By analogy,\u00a0there is very real\u00a0chance that this could happen with annual leave under Branson’s model. \u00a0 Currently executives normally struggle to use the\u00a0leave they are entitled to. \u00a0Many exit\u00a0jobs after a decade and are paid out accruals of up to 400-500 hours. \u00a0How is Branson intending to calculate these payments on termination? \u00a0That’s right, nobody keeps track anymore. \u00a0How convenient?<\/p>\n