Burn your ping pong tables
Living and working through Covid brought how we work and live into sharp focus for many people. This trend had started before 2022, though it was accelerated like many other trends in society by this pandemic. Questions like why, where, and how people want to work contributed to the great resignation.
Another part of this discussion is how long is a workday? And the workweek? How do people spend time at and outside of work? How much time is spent where?
There’s a difference between time spent at work and how much gets done (i.e. productivity). This is not a 1:1 translation of effort to results for most people. Some research indicates people are productive about half of the time they are in an office.
Let’s reset our focus to how productivity can be maximized when people are working in an office. How do we get closer to that 1:1 ratio of effort-to-productive activity?
Get your matchbook out. Maybe a can of gasoline.
Are you a business with ping pong and pool tables? Smoothie bars and lounges? Things you installed to keep people at work longer?
This trend began in the name of “attracting talent”, especially in tech companies. All this really did was sow the seeds for grooming underperforming, entitled workforces with poor socialization skills. Even if these “benefits” were offered in good faith (cough, cough), these accoutrements delivered the wrong message then and still do today. They say, “Stay here, sucker. This is more fun than your sad life. After ‘recharging’ you can go back and work more!”
For leaders, open up that matchbook and burn them all to the ground! Well, rip them out of your offices. Don’t actually set them on fire. Unless you can do so in a safe manner without hurting people and property you don’t want to singe.
For workers, stay away from these distractions. They’re a trap frequented by those with poor discipline and missing a professional desired outcome. Noting who takes advantage of these “benefits” is also a great way to determine who gets let go.
People at work should work. People not at work should be doing something else. It’s time for family, friends, and doing other things.
Employers say employees are important. If this is not lip service, get rid of useless crap that detracts from work getting done and people having lives. This doesn’t mean that sometimes extra hours don’t have to be put in on a project. When overtime is necessary, it should have meaning and purpose.
Some of you are probably wondering, “But Chad, how can you tell if overtime has meaning and purpose?” Are you willing to pay for overtime? Is staff compensation generous enough to counter working extra hours? If not, it’s not that important.
How many employers walk the talk wanting happy employees? Not those with these people traps or uncompensated/unrewarded overtime.
The second benefit of burning your ping pong tables? Value, keep and reward your key talent. They matter. Your ping pong players and smoothie drinkers? Meh..
Those who are truly motivated to offer that extra value for a business are probably not using people traps anyway. As Logan Roy of HBO’s “Succession” would say, they are serious people. Not easily manipulated maturity-challenged adults. These people are your organization’s key talent.
Incoming mini-rant. Let’s remember, work is not adult day care. When the big tech lay-off happened in early 2023, many newly unemployed people posted videos about how they lost their social lives when they were fired. Losing work sponsored yoga sessions and acai bowls was a huge problem! It’ll be a bigger problem for them when future employers view these videos. End of mini-rant.
It is normal for entrepreneurs and people higher up the food chain to work longer hours. This is something that is part of the landscape for these people. As is higher compensation to accommodate this expectation. Putting in long hours can have negative consequences, but sometimes it’s just the way it is. Some people thrive in this situation. It’s how highly ambitious people choose to live and work.
Do most people fall into this category of highly ambitious people? Maybe so at your company. How many of them are posing to look busy?
The upshot of burning your ping pong tables? Treasure your key talent. Take that money spent on ping pong and pool tables and up the pay for your top performers. They put in the effort that makes a difference for your business.