The technical possibilities allow us to decouple work from fixed times and to determine place and time individually – at least for the office workers among you. Because even if the heating can already be serviced online – the installation still happens on site.
So office work in the café and bookkeeping at home in the evening after 10 p.m.?
This work-life balance can quickly become work-life blending.
Never heard of it? Then as a self-employed entrepreneur, simply review the last week – you’ll do it ;-)). For most self-employed people, there is no clear boundary between work and private life.
That has never been a good thing. And even if it is now even easier due to the new communication channels – that is not good today either.
Especially not for your employees who have decided against self-employment. Precisely because they want to simply turn over the office key at some point to enjoy their private lives.
But: Between strict 9 to 5 and total flexibility, many individual models are already lived in “normal” companies – home office or working time models adapted to the situation of the employees have existed for a long time – Corona has given this development another powerful push.
The decisive factor remains: How do we deal with this new freedom? How do we design the framework conditions so that the work results are produced on time, in the necessary quality and efficiently?
New Work or Work 4.0 – we can’t get around these “buzzwords” today.
Work is changing – something completely new ;-)).
The question: Can the often cited flexibility over time and space, the flat hierarchies and the sense of purpose paired with fun at work really be transferred from the hip web workers in Berlin to down-to-earth industries in the “province”?
This is a topic that will certainly occupy us for years to come.
But before we spout cloudy theories here – let’s straighten things out a bit:
From massages at the workplace to the indispensable table football. In the head offices of the start-ups and in the headquarters of the big companies like Apple, Google and Co. it looks more like a group of senior citizens in a kindergarten.
But that should not blind us to the fact that these companies remain what they are: clearly profit-oriented. At the end of the day, the result has to be right.
But: More important than permanent fun is good cooperation in the company. This includes transparent decision-making, a good culture of discussion and an open culture of mistakes.
he Y and Z generations – those born after 1980 – are looking for the meaning behind their work. Below “We solve one of the biggest problems of humanity (hunger, war, climate …)” nothing works anymore …
On the other hand, this exaggerated claim leads to “quite normal” jobs almost being discriminated against.
Honestly, work is still work – even if we are not saving the world, but “just” making a customer’s life easier and/or more beautiful with a craftsman’s service or an insurance contract.
But the why behind the work is important. It’s not just about thinking about what we do all day and how we can best do it.
Es geht um die Frage, warum die Mitarbeiter genau bei Ihnen arbeiten wollen. Und die Antwort ist eben nicht nur das Gehalt.
Conclusion: Yes, our working world will change. But we should not run after hip trends, but rather reflect on what is most important for our employees at work: a good boss who finds answers to the question together with his employees: Why(“vision”) will we work how (way of working together internally and externally) what (what services) in the future?
This is what you have to measure yourself against now …
