PARADIGM CHANGE: WORKED HOURS LEAVE, RESULTS ENTER

The concern should not be about the work process, but whether the expected result has been achieved.

By Luiz Gustavo Mariano

With a large part of the population already vaccinated, the United States is preparing for a return to normality. Schools are accepting students. Restaurant and bars prepare to reopen salons. The tourism industry expects a boom in travel. Another important point of this new scenario: the new reality of work.

In the first months of the pandemic, in mid-2020, many companies, including Big Techs, claimed that the home office was a model that had come to stay; employees could work from home, no longer having to travel to the office.

Recently, the attitude has changed. Many of these companies no longer see the home office with good eyes. They say they will opt for the hybrid model or even for a total return to face-to-face.

This occurred because, in the understanding of the executives of these organizations, the face-to-face model favors the exchange of ideas and experiences and, therefore, would be the one that best leads to productivity; to innovation; to the professional growth of employees.

This diagnosis may indeed be correct, but what I prefer to discuss is another matter. We must take advantage of this unusual moment that we are experiencing to focus on a paradigm shift: using as a parameter for an employee's good performance the results he provides to the company, and not the number of hours worked by him.

The performance and effectiveness of an employee are not directly linked to the time that this professional is theoretically dedicated to the company (at home office or in person), but rather to the solutions, ideas and innovations that this professional effectively presents to the company.

Because of the pandemic, I've been thinking about this for some time. This week I was sent an article from Fast Company that has everything to do with the subject. “Due to generational demand and changing presence in the workplace, flexibility is transforming. From unlimited vacation policies to asynchronous schedules, companies and their employees are adapting quickly. With these seismic shifts, it is imperative that organizations rethink how success is measured and implement an employee performance model that focuses on outcomes, not 'chair time'.

Companies should focus not on the number of hours worked, but on whether employees are meeting required expectations; therefore, the concern should not be on the work process, but whether the expected result has been achieved.

“By evaluating employees based on results produced rather than hours spent, companies can create a highly motivated workplace with increased employee productivity, better team relationships and a flexible company culture,” the article reads. It's what I believe.


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