From Hybrid to Happy: Why Some Leaders Are Afraid to Embrace the Future of Work

If you're a CEO or a leader, you might be missing out on the future of work. Adam Grant, a professor of organizational psychology, thinks that too many leaders are afraid to change and experiment. They might stick with what they know, and not consider other options.

Grant says that every opinion you hold at work is a hypothesis waiting to be tested. Every decision you make is an experiment waiting to be run. Too many leaders just implement decisions without testing them. They might be afraid to try new things, even if it could lead to happier and more productive workplaces. For example, back in 2018, Grant proposed a remote-Friday experiment to some CEOs. But they all balked at the idea, worried that it might be hard to put it back in the bag once it was out.

What about the future of work? 

Will hybrid work continue to be the way we work, or will workplaces revert over time? Grant says that people are more likely to stay in a hybrid structure because they can perform just as well if they are only in the office half the week. However, some bosses are urging people back into the office. Grant thinks that in a hybrid world, we need to develop new skills and build new muscles. For some people, that might be unsettling.

The pandemic might not have been an inflection point for work culture, according to Grant. Work has always evolved with technology. However, people might be more vocal about it now. There is a lot of talk about waning workplace camaraderie. Interpersonal bonds are good for team performance, but having clear roles and clear goals is even better.

Grant thinks that organizations aren't fully capitalizing on these new ways of working. People might work in jobs where they make a difference, but they can't see their impact. Small steps to connect the dots could have a dramatic impact on their motivation. For example, meeting one person helped by your work for five minutes was enough to almost double your effort and productivity. In the virtual world, it's easy to get a customer to pop into a Zoom meeting and talk about why they appreciate our product or service.

If leadership isn't receptive to change, what can you do? Grant suggests using motivational interviewing. Instead of trying to convince people with your argument, you should ask them what would motivate them to try something new. You might learn something that could help you make a better case.

Was the pandemic genuinely an inflection point for work culture? Do you think the centrality of work in American life is shifting? 

When you compare Boomers, Gen Xers and millennials when they were at the same stage and when they just graduated from college, what you see is the generations look more similar than they do different. 

Yes, there is a slight increase in desire for work-life balance among Gen Xers and millennials, but it is still less important than many of the other things we want out of work: having an interesting job and meaningful work, and being paid well and getting promoted.

I don’t know that I buy the fundamental-shift argument. I think there have always been quiet quitters. A generation ago we called it phoning it in, before that we called it mailing it in. It just evolves with technology. What’s happened now is people are more vocal about it.

What excites Grant about the future of work? 

He thinks that we've only just started scratching the surface of the question of whether work should take up as much time as it does. Every experiment he has seen on reducing work hours suggests that people are as productive, if not more productive. He'd rather have people do six focused hours a day or four focused days a week than eight distracted hours or five unmotivated days. The pandemic forced us to run all these experiments, not just in where we work, but when we work and how we coordinate. Grant's biggest fear is that the experimentation is going to stop.

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Intro: The future of work is here, and some CEOs are missing out on opportunities for happier, more productive workplaces. In a recent interview with The Wall Street Journal, organizational psychologist and bestselling author Adam Grant shared insights on why some leaders are afraid to change and experiment, and how employees can try to catalyze change from within. In this post, we'll take a closer look at some of Grant's key takeaways and explore what they mean for the future of work.

Inspiration, here. WSJ