Why Work Sucks and How to Fix It_ The Results-Only Revolution - Cali Ressler [33]
Voices from a ROWE: Trey
Trey is an e-learning specialist. He is an individual contributorwho does Not manage people. Trey is in his late twenties and has been in a Results-Only Work Environment for almost two years.
When I was in college the mood on campus was that all corporations are inherently evil. While the bulk of this hatred was focused on companies like Wal-Mart and McDonald’s, the overall atmosphere was very anticorporate. Having never worked for a corporation, my perspective of corporate America was also very negative. When I told my friends I landed a job at Best Buy’s corporate headquarters they basically said that I was bowing down to The Man just to make a buck.
Once I started working for Best Buy and got into a Results-Only Work Environment my view and the views of my friends eventually changed. When I told friends and family I had the opportunity to work when I want, wherever I want, at first they didn’t believe me. As time passed and I had story after story of my incredible experiences with ROWE they began to change their minds. Their overall view of “corporate America” hasn’t changed, but their view of Best Buy’s corporate headquarters has definitely changed. My employment opportunities and lifestyle are now envied within my social circle. I don’t hear about evil corporate America from people anymore. Instead people say, “I want your job.”
When I compare my life two years ago, working a steady eight-to-five role, with where I am today I can’t help but smile. In my eight-to-five role there was no flexibility. I had two weeks of vacation time and a fixed amount of sick time. Because there was no flexibility, I had to use vacation time to go to the dentist or the doctor. Leaving early or coming in late resulted in disciplinary action. I recall the hassle I had to go through to take three weeks off to follow my favorite band. I ended up using all of my vacation time and taking a week’s “leave of absence.”
I think the best way to compare life in a fixed eight-to-five role with what it’s like to work in a ROWE is to just describe my life the past year. For the most part I am able to get up when I want and choose when and where to work. There are times when I need to attend meetings or get work done in a pinch, but those instances are few and far between. Some days I will feel like heading into the office; some days I won’t. The past month I have been in the office before ten probably two to three times, and only because I had a meeting.
A typical day for me includes waking up when my room is too bright from the sun and I can no longer sleep. I check my e-mail to make sure there are no pressing issues and respond to anyone who needs my input. I will typically watch an episode of South Park on the Internet, then walk to my local grocery store and buy some breakfast, even though it’s closer to lunch at this point. After eating I will work in front of my television with ESPN on in the background. At this point I will choose to go into the office or continue to work from home, or maybe not even work at all and go for a bike ride or jog. If there is still work to do later that night, I’ll do it then and it’s no big deal.
I’m never Not accomplishing anything. I always do what is expected of me. Because of the ROWE our team has gotten smarter about how we work. It used to be that one person would manage everything for a project and perform all the functions. We moved to more of a studio approach. Each person works according to their strengths. One person does copy. One person does Flash. I upload and implement and ensure functionality. Before we started working in a Results-Only Work Environment we could do ten, maybe twelve courses a month. We recently put forty-three courses out in a single month. This doesn’t change when I travel. If I have eighteen