Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio
Speaker 1: Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 1: Today's tip is about figuring out whether work needs to
Speaker 1: happen in the office or if it can be done remotely.
Speaker 1: Think about presents as something that should be purposeful. We
Speaker 1: should have good reasons for being where we are. When
Speaker 1: we do, we can match the right work to the
Speaker 1: right place. Today's tip comes from a post by Bonnie Dowling,
Speaker 1: Taylor Lauracella, and Bill Shanniger on Mackenzie's blog about how
Speaker 1: leaders need to communicate with their teams about returning to
Speaker 1: working in the office. The authors write that leaders should
Speaker 1: adopt a mindset of purposeful presents. They go on to
Speaker 1: explain they should embrace nuance and focus on the type
Speaker 1: of work and collaboration for example, individuals small groups within
Speaker 1: your shift when determining where work needs to happen. I
Speaker 1: think purposeful presence is a great rule of thumb for
Speaker 1: leaders to use when considering who needs to be in
Speaker 1: the office, when and what work needs to be done
Speaker 1: in the office. What is the purpose and value of
Speaker 1: being in the office and when and for whom? In
Speaker 1: many organizations, there may be a decision to set straightforward policies.
Speaker 1: Maybe these three days are office days and these two
Speaker 1: days are remote days, but it is important to think
Speaker 1: about the why behind expectations. You want to ensure that
Speaker 1: employees time in the office advances the goals you have
Speaker 1: for them being in the office, So make that clear.
Speaker 1: What are the goals? Why are these days in office days?
Speaker 1: It shouldn't just be a compromise based on the reality
Speaker 1: that people won't commute five days a week again if
Speaker 1: they don't have to. What do you want people to
Speaker 1: achieve by coming together in person? How do you expect
Speaker 1: people to split their meetings. What sort of collaboration do
Speaker 1: you expect people to do in the office, and what
Speaker 1: sort of work is best done at home. Communicate this
Speaker 1: with your team so your new policy doesn't just come
Speaker 1: across as being what seemed like the middle of the
Speaker 1: road and what everyone else is doing. And if it
Speaker 1: did just seem like a reasonable split, well maybe time
Speaker 1: to rethink it. A good why is going to be
Speaker 1: far more convincing. Purposeful presence is also a helpful touchstone
Speaker 1: for employees. If you have some discretion about where you
Speaker 1: work and are deciding whether or not to go into
Speaker 1: the office on a given day. Ask yourself these questions,
Speaker 1: what are my top priorities for the day? What could
Speaker 1: I contribute in office that I couldn't contribute as fully
Speaker 1: at home? On the other hand, also consider what could
Speaker 1: I accomplish today working remotely that I couldn't get done
Speaker 1: as effectively in the office. Make a choice about where
Speaker 1: to work based on which location would better help you
Speaker 1: achieve your top priorities for the day. And if you've
Speaker 1: decided or are being required to go into the office
Speaker 1: on a given day, set intentions for how you will
Speaker 1: ensure your presence is purposeful. Ask yourself, how could I
Speaker 1: make the most of my time in the office. Maybe
Speaker 1: this means you schedule breakfast with one colleague and lunch
Speaker 1: with another and focus on fostering your relationships with these
Speaker 1: and other coworkers. Or you might decide that this is
Speaker 1: a great opportunity to meet up with a coworker you're
Speaker 1: collaborating with on the design of a new program. Meeting
Speaker 1: together in a room with a huge whiteboard to map
Speaker 1: out your ideas can make the idea generation and planning
Speaker 1: phase more energizing and productive. Or you might have a
Speaker 1: more powerful computer at work than at home, so in
Speaker 1: office time could be great for using graphic design or
Speaker 1: statistical software that can sometimes be sluggish on your home computer.
Speaker 1: In office time can also create tactful opportunities for following
Speaker 1: up with colleagues about outstanding requests. It is a lot
Speaker 1: easier to stick your head in an office and say
Speaker 1: how eager you are to hear people's ideas about the
Speaker 1: proposal you shared than it is to send an email
Speaker 1: reminding them that, hello, you asked for feedback three days ago.
Speaker 1: With a purposeful presence mindset, leaders and employees focus on
Speaker 1: using time well. You are not in the office just
Speaker 1: for the sake of being in the office. You are
Speaker 1: there to achieve something that is best done there. And
Speaker 1: when you are working remotely, you know that that is
Speaker 1: the right call because you have identified why your presence
Speaker 1: somewhere other than the office can be the right thing too.
Speaker 1: In the meantime, this is Laura, Thanks for listening, and
Speaker 1: here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,
Speaker 1: I'd love to hear from you. You can send me
Speaker 1: your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with
Speaker 1: me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. At before breakfast pod
Speaker 1: that's b the number four, then Breakfast p o D.
Speaker 1: You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast
Speaker 1: podcast at i heeart media dot com that Before Breakfast
Speaker 1: is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much,
Speaker 1: I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is
Speaker 1: a production of I heart Radio. For more podcasts from
Speaker 1: I heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. Yeah.