Speculating about what’s next for the workplace has become quite the hobby. Will it be place-bound or not? Will AI take jobs or create new ones? How can we scale systems but retain our humanity? With the support of Emeritus, the team at Valize is partnering with subject matter experts and leading Human Resources professionals to consider these questions and many more.
Key Highlights:
1. Framing the Challenge
We’re at an inflection point in organizational design, as Curt Carlson might argue. There’s a clear shift away from traditional hierarchical bureaucracies towards more “permissionless” organizational structures, even as entire sectors of our economy are being driven to relentless efficiency by soulless algorithms. Our challenge is to explore new organizational models that balance necessary structure with the possibilities offered by emerging technologies and management approaches. People have been talking about flexible work, employee empowerment and flattening hierarchies forever but now we see real situations in which these principles can be implemented at scale.
2. Inspired by expert insights from colleagues
We thought to stimulate and inspire by looking at critical research that has already been done by leading thinkers. Some of these are snippets from previous Fireside Chats. They’re all available if you check out my YouTube channel.
Zeynep Ton has made a convincing case that good jobs uplift everyone and can create higher performance. Paying people enough, for instance, allows them to focus on giving their best at work rather than stressing over a second job or what bills to pay. Her books are The Good Jobs Strategy and The Case for Good Jobs. You can take the Good Jobs Institute’s free assessment at this link to see how your workplace stacks up.
Tiffani Bova makes the point that while companies have had an admirable focus on serving customers well, this hasn’t extended to their employee population. As a result, employee experience belongs nowhere – and we know that poor employee experiences are only a step away from unsatisfying customer experiences. Her most recent book is The Engagement Mindset and it’s full of great nuggets of research-backed wisdom.
Keith Ferrazzi describes the importance of being intentional about creating bonds at work, the value of empathy and ultimately vulnerability which we will need to master as we move further into our post-pandemic workspaces. Look for his new book on “Teamship” coming out this fall.
Peter Capelli has done some of the most significant research in what actually matters in remote work – what helps and what hurts. In one study, for instance, he and a colleague found that when employers use contractors to do jobs similar to those done by employees, employees’ commitment to and sense of value of their own work suffers.
Adina Sterling (newly joined Columbia from Stanford) discusses the importance of relational capital – a position in a group of relationships that allowed her to build a network at P&G that would have taken ordinary newbies years to develop (before she went into academia to study this selfsame thing!).
3. Key Themes Explored
We discussed ten potential focus areas, with rich dialogue emerging around each. Our goal is to get these down to perhaps 3 in which we could design a research program, run some experiments and get a whole lot smarter about how we create great workplaces that let people perform at their best.
a) Incorporating Humans in Scaled Systems
Paul LeBlanc’s work at Southern New Hampshire University demonstrates how to balance technology-driven efficiency with high-touch human interaction. One Medical was cited as another example in healthcare. The key is to leverage technology for efficiency while preserving human interaction where it adds the most value. You can watch my conversation with Paul in which we discuss this topic here.
b) Rights, Responsibilities, and Accountability
We had an extensive discussion about the tension between empowerment and accountability. Jack Gottlieb aptly noted the risk of “metrics becoming a strategy” in the absence of clear organizational goals. Morning Star tomato processing company and Semco were mentioned as examples of innovative accountability structures.
c) Diversity and Opportunity Allocation
Elizabeth Nieto challenged us to move beyond the “cultural fit” cop-out, while Elson Kuriakose urged us to “think really diversely about diversity” beyond just visible characteristics. Amazon and McKinsey were noted for their innovative hiring practices involving non-managerial input.
d) Characteristics of Good Jobs
Zeynep Ton’s research demonstrates that investing in frontline workers can drive better business outcomes. Costco, QuikTrip, Sam’s Club, and IKEA were highlighted as positive examples. We discussed how poor job design can become a significant competitive disadvantage.
e) Burnout: Root Causes and Solutions
We examined Professor Christina Maslach’s research on burnout, identifying key factors like overwhelming workload, lack of autonomy, and values misalignment. Jeff Pfeffer’s work on “Dying for a Paycheck” was also mentioned, highlighting how organizations could proactively identify and address burnout risks.
f) Shared Ownership Models
Under the leadership of Pete Stavros, KKR’s approach to employee ownership, particularly their success with CHI Overhead Doors, provided an interesting case study in how shared ownership can boost engagement and company success. Springfield Remanufacturing was also mentioned for their transparency practices.
g) Purpose and Motivation
The group distinguished between organizational purpose and meaningful individual work. As Ely Bar-Ness put it, “If you have a meaningful purpose, but the work is not [meaningful], then that’s not going to work for those individuals.” We also touched on recent research from Yale on corporate purpose.
h) Balancing Deep Work and Collaboration
We acknowledged the tension between the need for focused, distraction-free time and the value of collaborative work. While no specific companies were mentioned, the group recognized this as a universal challenge in modern work environments.
i) Synchronous vs. Asynchronous Work
We compared models from companies like Tesla (highly synchronous) and Automattic (fully asynchronous), recognizing the spectrum of possibilities between these extremes and the implications for organizational design.
We discussed the challenges of fostering belonging in remote and hybrid environments, noting the backlash against punitive return-to-office policies. The importance of trust in these decisions was emphasized.
4. Next Steps
We’ll be reaching out individually to discuss your interests and potential involvement in specific workstreams. Our goal is to form three focused groups, each with committed co-facilitators and team members.
What’s Next!
We have a unique opportunity to shape the future of work in a way that honors our humanity while driving organizational success. If you would like to get engaged with our group, this Google Form will let us know and get you into the right communication channels.
As is often said, the future doesn’t just happen – it is made. If you like to be “in the room where it happened,” this working group offers a great vantage point.
The landing page for our project is here. Check it out!