The Case for the Punctuated Worker 

My typical work day may look like this:

7 am - my daughter wakes up (and so do I), so it's time to play, shower, groom, dress
8 am - breakfast (followed by guaranteed clean-up and scrubbing necessitated by a one-year-old)
8:30 am - sit down to start work
9:00 am - take a client call
9:30 am - read a book to my daughter and return to working
12:00 pm - lunchtime with daughter and husband
12:30 pm - back to work
1:45 pm - conference call with my team
3:00 pm - doctor's appointment
5:00 pm - review business proposal
5:30 pm - dinner with family
7:30 pm - bedtime
8:00 pm - work on a client deliverable

... and so on. I am what has been branded a 'punctuated worker'. I first heard this term coined by Daniel Rasmus - Director of Business Insights with Microsoft Corporation - and his description fit my work patterns to a tee. Finally, I wasn't just a woman trying to juggle all of her responsibilities in the manner that worked best for her, but I was part of a growing demographic that has recognized that introducing flexibility into our working lives not only provides us with a sense of greater fulfillment (and often less stress for those caring for loved ones or with disabling challenges), but allows us to work more productively at the times that are most natural for us.

The age-old fear from our traditional employers is that they can't monitor and measure their employee's workday contributions. This came up in the aforementioned presentation when one of the attendees expressed concern about his responsibilty for measuring productivity and performance, and how new tools and processes impact worker productivity negatively, at least in the way he measured it. My initial thought was - don't we need to somehow change the way we think about productivity and performance then? For the executives who have been innovative and far-sighted enough to embrace or at least recognize the demands that will be placed on our emerging demographic - the Millenials - and in return the demands they will place on their employers, the rewards will be plenty. For those stuck in the misaligned objectives of the 8-hour office work day, there may be surprises ahead, including an increasing struggle for your organisation to remain relevant and attractive to an unsettled new demographic.

Although I am sadly too old to consider myself part of the Millenials, I can relate to their demands and desired. Many moons ago, I worked with a team that produced an online environment for supporting non-paid, non-professional caregivers. The ability for them to connect to each other and the resources we had made available to them was tremendously valuable. They constantly spoke of their frustration around all the appointments and visits they had to make during working hours, to ensure that their loved ones (children, parents, spouses, etc.) were cared for, and how this impacted their ability to focus on their work in an alloted timeframe (often 9 am - 5 pm). They reported feeling distracted at work, unable to focus, stressed, worried, and constrained. Imagine if these professionals were able to fit their work into the times that they had available during their work day and week. Imagine the increased productivity, or more importantly the quality of their work. Recognizing that the currently emerging workforce will be caring for a substantially top-heavy population in the coming years, this is certainly an issue to take notice of.

So what becomes most important? That an employee is present for 8 hours a day in the same location, or that their work is delivered with impressive results? Pair this with the steadily changing profile of many lines of professional work from that of a hands-on trade to that of information work, and finally layer on top the technologies and tools available to workers, including instant messaging, web conferencing, web repositories, collaboration portals, social networking tools... all of these have been rethought and reintroduced by crafty businesses who want to harvest their potential. What emerges is a very enabled worker who, through the appreciation she has of her employer's attention to her as an individual with a complex life of responsibilities and motivations, is less stressed, more fulfilled, and able to address her deliverables in a thoughtful and focused manner.

The caveat, of course, is that not every position or role is going to be suitable for this scenario, but it would do every employer well to at least consider where they might be able to make these changes. In it for the business is not only the social capital of worker's perceptions and appreciations, but cost-saving measures around reduced travel and communications expenses, increased productive capacity through re-engineered and more streamlined work processes, use of natural networks for marketing and communications vs. highly paid agency model, and contribution to the ever-looming green agenda.

To achieve this zen, employers are best to start at their organisation's core, understanding their own capabilities around enterprise integration and the promotion of creativity. Through our Connected Business Framework, we work with organisations daily to assess their capabilities around collaboration, communication and innovation. Once the executive is able to assess and understand fully their current capabilities, they are able to chart a course for maturing in a desired timeframe.

The focus of success will shift quickly and overwhelmingly to the individuals that contribute to the daily activities that fuel your organisation. People will become your competitive advantage. The time left to be an innovator in this space is running out as executives clue in to this reality.