How to break free of the old model

Abstract

The main difference between the work experiences of these two young women is trust. Laura works in a trusting culture, where she is expected to meet objectives without needing to be micro-managed. Essentially, she is treated as an adult. Her friend works in a low-trust environment where people are assumed to be inherently unreliable and prone to abuse ‘the system’ unless the boss keeps a close eye on their every move. She is managed as if she were a troublesome toddler.

Laura Terheyden is in her late 20s and works in San Francisco. Like many of her peers in Generation Y — young people now entering, or already in, the workforce — she places a high value on anything an employer can do to make life easier as she focuses on building her career. Being able to decide where and when she works is a big part of that.

Speaking at a conference panel on generations in the workplace, she told the audience her own work style was worlds apart from that of peers in other companies. ‘Some of my friends are amazed when they hear about the flexibility I have,’ she said. ‘A lot of my friends work in places where they feel like they are clocking in and clocking out even as salaried employees. That’s a struggle for them. One of them, who is in a finance function, has to stay in her cube and her comings and goings are watched by an older member of staff.’ ¹

Her friend feels under pressure to tell her boss when she is not at her workstation, for example when going to lunch or leaving for the day. ‘The older coworker, to whom she does not report, expects my friend to be physically present on a routine schedule that matches her own, even though my friend may be working after hours at home or on weekends unbeknownst to her colleague.’

By contrast, Laura enjoys what she calls a ‘flexible workspace’, with the freedom to work outside the confines of specified time and place. She is part of the diversity and inclusion team at McKesson, the US healthcare company. ‘Instead of working 9—5 in an office or designated cube, I may work from home, a coffee shop, a park with Wi-Fi, or have a cube-share with another employee. I work the amount of hours needed to get the job done by the deadline instead of doing the job between certain hours on certain days. It’s just a different way of looking at time.’