We had the pleasure of interviewing Jody Thompson, the Co-Founder of CultureRx® and Co-Creator of the Results-Only Work Environment™ (ROWE™), along with Cali Ressler. CultureRx® is the sole global authority on ROWE™ and the sole executor of organizational and individual certification. Listen here to the interview with Jody Thompson
Thompson provides domestic and international keynote presentations on the 21st century workplace and has been featured on the covers of BusinessWeek, Workforce Management Magazine, HR Magazine, and HR Executive Magazine, as well as in the New York Times, TIME Magazine, USA Today, and on Good Morning America, CNBC, MSNBC and CNN. She has co-authored two best-sellling books on revolutionizing the workplace and the practice of management, Why Work Sucks and How to Fix It and Why Managing Sucks and How to Fix It.
Some Nuggets of Wisdom from Why Work Sucks
ROWE defined: Each person is free to do whatever they want, whenever they want, as long as the work gets done.
Sounds like college! It's Tivo @ work.
Work is something you do, not a place you go.
The solution is not flextime. Flexible schedule is an oxymoron.
Work-life balance: balance impossible under current system (employee defined, not employer defined).
Time management – like finding freedom in a prison.
ROWE as the Antidote to the Labor Theory of Value
Employees are paid for chunk of work, not chunk of time.
If I build a cot under my desk but I’m not performing, does that make me a good worker?
If an employee is not performing, more hours won’t matter.
Myth: Time + Physical presence = Results
Strangely, we only do this at work: “Don’t look at a pile of laundry and think, I’d better make sure I’m putting enough hours into this.”
Presenteeism: Your body is in the building, but your mind is somewhere else.
Ask: “Is there anything you need?” This knocks out Presenteeism.
Sludge: Negative commentary that occurs naturally in a workplace and is based on outdated beliefs about time and work.
Common “How” questions (Appendix II: “Yeah, Buts”)
How are the results going to happen?
How do we know we’re achieving our goals?
How will we know that everyone is pulling their weight?
Answer: “How do you know now?”
True slackers don’t last in a ROWE.
Involuntary turnover (fired) goes up, voluntary turnover goes down.
Final thoughts
Ed and I believe that ROWE is the next wave for true knowledge organizations, as it is centered around results, a high level of trust, and providing autonomy to knowledge workers enabling them to thrive.
Keep up the great work Jody and Cali!