Today's post is from Maren Kate, an entrepreneur who blogs about starting a small business, living extraordinarily and escaping the 9 to 5.

I always hear the stand by "You shouldn't live to work, instead work to live". It's true, I guess, but it always confused me because I truly love what I do, so I have no interest in just working to live, instead I love to work. Now to some this is a sign of workaholicism - but I disagree. I feel like calling productivity a disease is kind of silly in the first place - I mean if you love what you do, are happy and not only aren't hurting anyone but you're adding to the world - how can that be wrong? It's like saying that Mother Teresa was a compassionaholic or that someone who loves to write day in and day out is a proseaholic. So loving-work-aholics, unite, it's our time to shine and to show the world that work doesn't always have to be tedious and with a little creativity & persistence it can actually be one of the best parts of your life.

How to Love What You Do

1. Do you do what you love?

It's a basic concept. If you hate numbers and you work as an accountant you're going to hate your job and most probably your life. If you love writing and you work as a blogger you're going to enjoy life and feel as if you're job adds value to your overall existence. So ask yourself, if I could do anything in the world & get paid a decent wage for it - what would I do? Then figure out a way, come hell or high water, to do just that.

2. Don't get mired in the things you hate within your business.

Too often entrepreneurs start a business based around what they love, but within a few months are hating their lives. The problem is that instead of doing what they love in their business they've tried to become everything to everyone. Thus the artist starts balancing the books, making sales calls and learning HTML when all she wanted to do was paint. Make sure that when you start a business you either A. love the admin side of things or B. find someone who can do that for you while you focus on what you love and are great at.

3. Love where you work.

I had a job as a receptionist over summer break when I was 18. It wasn't a hard job and for the most part I liked the answering phones and filing a bit, but I went home every night crying. Why? Because I hated (with a capital H) where I worked. It was a window-less, cubicle, cell of death, nothing but white walls surrounded me and the horrible lights above me made me literally ill. If I had been doing that same job next to a bright open window, with warm wood walls and a cool summer breeze blowing in - I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have minded it at all. Loving where you work is incredibly important, especially when you are work shifting from a typical 9 to 5 into a career or business where you have freedom of location. Choose wisely, pay attention to your inner aesthetic needs and you'll find yourself 100 times more productive and happy at work.

Making the shift

Shifting from living to work to loving to work isn't an easy one, that's why so few people do it. Most people won't leave their comfort zones or force themselves to truly consider what they would be happy doing. Call it fear, call it negative self image, call it whatever you want - the point is that it's prevalent in our society. So to be different, will be difficult. But the pay off is oh, so worth it. Think of it this way - if you love to work you'll be 5 to 10 times more productive, easily. So you could cut your 8 hour work day into a few hours and still have the same results when you start loving your work vs. when you live to work you'll try to put off your work as long as possible. So you can slave away in a 9 to 5 for the next 30 years, living to work and not be very happy - or you could take a year to figure out what would really make you love to work and do that for a fraction of the time for probably the same, or more financial reward. When you love your work your whole world gets better!

The 'Peter Principle' postulates that in every hierarchy all employees tend to rise to their level of incompetence...seemingly ironic as that sounds, in its essence, the Peter Principle makes perfect sense. It holds that, in a hierarchy, members are promoted as long as they work competently; sooner or later, however, they are promoted to a position at which they are no longer competent!

Consider the model employee who consistently performs, exceeding expectations and pleasing clients and upper level management alike. Soon, our employee finds him/herself in the right place at the right time, and it's called a promotion.  Win-win, right? The employee is rewarded for hard work and feels smug in his/her just reward. Decision makers pat each other on the back and breathe a sigh of relief when the open position is filled by our employee - sitting contentedly on the theory that anything that works can be used in progressively more challenging applications until it fails. 

Although in the above scenario, it appears that hard-working employee (A) + acknowledging superiors (B) = justly deserved and appropriate promotion (C), the whole is not necessarily equal to the sum of its parts in all equations like this one.

It is management's responsibility to balance the roles which need to be filled with those individuals most suitable and most deserving of the opportunity. And that includes workshifters, who despite alternative geographical locations or flexible office hours, earn their keep as legitimately and sometimes more effectively than their 9 to 5 counterparts.

From Upper Management's perspective, when a position becomes open, there is a direct and sometimes desperate urge to fill it at any cost in order to avoid additional work and disruption to float upstream, regardless of if an employee is truly "management material." Dr. Peter put it best when he said, "There is much temptation to use what has worked before, even when it may exceed its effective scope." As the workplace continually re-defines itself in today's ever-changing economy, so, too, must the definition and vision of promotion-worthy individuals.

Many times, an employee's potential in his/her initial position may not translate into efficacy in the next. As any current or previous manager would know, a management job is different from any other job in which one may have previously excelled, and thus requires different skills of both an interpersonal and professional nature. By the same token, just because an individual's work schedule or structure changes, this does not directly translate into the inability to perform in a new or more responsible role.  

Many would-be workshifters would attest to being hesitant, apprehensive and even afraid of risking their position if they considered or requested the ability to workshift. However, many forward-thinking management teams now realize that, because the unique skillset of a good manager/employee is so difficult to manufacture, they are less willing to let that talent resign and more willing to accommodate, using technology and well-defined scope and responsibilities, to retain good managers/employees and eliminate promotion for promotion sake.

Progress takes time and patience and both parties must be willing to contribute 100% Management must be willing to place trust in the employee to whom they have given the ability to workshift. And, for the workshifter: to whom much is given, much is expected...and, from whom much is expected much should be given in return.

Given the advances in technology and the movement toward more flexibility in the workplace, there should be no questions asked when a valuable, driven employee becomes a workshifter. So whether you work 9 to 5 in a traditional office or 5 to 9 on a workshifting schedule, there should be no difference in perception nor output. Hard work, honest efforts and the right schedule and tools are the main ingredients needed to cook up success and ensure an organization succeeds.

What do you think?


Photo Credit: Jeff Hester

I came across this thought-provoking article on BNET the other day about the impact of gender on how men's brains and women's brains function--and the impact this has on how we work.

The article cites Sally Helgesen, co-author of The Female Vision: Women's Real Power at Work, who says that women are more skilled multitaskers while men are great at single-mindedly focusing on one thing for a long period of time. According to Helgesen, this tendency to multitask well is one reason women often over-commit.

Another difference:

One major difference between the sexes that really impacts managers is that women are (in general) more likely to speak up if they're unhappy about their immediate circumstances and environment, while men tend to suffer in silence. (Helgesen's term for it is "men will suck it up and tolerate a lot more for a lot longer.")

As a longtime workshifter, I've never really thought about the question of how gender might impact workshifting - who is likely to take to it, and what that means for teams of workshifters and those who manage them. But as more people shift out of office settings, it seems that figuring out some of this stuff will be very useful.

So I turn it to you. What's been your experience? Have you noticed any differences in work styles or approaches between the men and women you workshift with? If yes, what's your takeaway?


Photo Credit: OtisArchives2

Thanks to all Workshifters who took the time over the past two weeks to fill out our brief one-question survey on what type of profession they were in. We had respondents from the US, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, France and Mexico.

Without further ado, here are the results:

Type of Profession	Percent
Other	19%
Advertising, Marketing, PR	15%
Information Technology	12%
Writer/Editor	8%
Education	8%
Salesperson	7%
Manager	7%
Programmer	5%
Creative Arts/Design	4%
Publishing & Journalism	3%
Healthcare	3%
Legal profession	3%
Customer service	1%
Accounting	1%
Engineering	1%

The goal of the survey was to determine the most common profession among Workshifters. With the exception of "Other", the top professions are pretty much in line with what I expected. Careers in advertising, IT, writing, editing and sales, all seem to be pretty easy to translate into remote working environments.

Many operate on a project basis and have clear deliverables and metrics, which is vital for both the Workshifter and the employer or client. These types of careers are also often computer based and involve solo work that can be done as a home-based business.
All could also be categorized as "knowledge workers," who are often defined as people with at least two years of college whose jobs rely on their minds, such as IT, engineering, management, etc.

I'm curious as to how "Education" fits into the remote working environment. I suspect these are people who perhaps teach out of their homes or maybe online modules?

The fact that "Other" was the top response either signifies that many Workshifters are in unique professions that don't fall within the typical categories, or that I simply didn't include enough career options in the survey. I suspect it's the latter.

In looking back at the answers, I realize that I likely should have included "professional services/consulting" or "realty" to the mix. Other than that, I'm wondering what other professions I am missing. What do you think?

Photo Credit: Carsten Knoch

I was speaking with a friend the other day about my Workshifting arrangement with MindFire, when she asked me what other types of professions would "allow" or work for this type of remote working arrangement.

It caught me off guard, because I hadn't really thought of Workshifting as being exclusive to only certain professions. Of course you can't be an emergency room doctor or bus driver and work remotely, but by and large, I had been operating under the assumption that most professionals in our Information Era could work in a remote environment as long as it is supported by management. I suppose this is a bit naïve, though. Not every job that involves a desk and a computer could be translated into a remote work environment.

So I thought it would be interesting to poll Workshifting readers to determine the types of professions you are in. Are most of you programmers? Salespeople? Writers? Editors?

Please take this one-question survey (it's only one question). I will post results at the end of June.

If I'd have to guess, I'd imagine that the majority of you are in professions that are very project based.  I would imagine this is a result of the fact that it's probably easier to manage Workshifters who work on projects with a clear deliverable.

I think you could also make a case that remote working environments are particularly successful for professions where your work is measured by clear metrics, such as sales made, or hours billed. Again, the management aspects for those types of professions would make it more appealing to allow employees to workshift. I think these types of metrics also provide Workshifters with a way to justify their working arrangements and "prove" that they are working just as hard as their office counterparts.

What do you think? What are the top Workshifting professions, and why?


Photo Credit: Mafleen

I Google myself. If you're reading this blog, you probably Google yourself too. And if you're like me you may even have a Google alert set up for your full name. Ok, maybe you don't go that far. Over half (57%) of adult internet users have Googled their name to check on their online reputation, according to a recent study by Pew Research Center called "Reputation Management and Social Media." The study goes on to talk about reputation management as a defining feature of online life. This research also signifies a broader acceptance of the workshifting culture as we try to build reputations and connections with people around the world in a remote way.

Reputation used to be all about shaking hands and kissing babies. And although in person engagements and interactions are still crucial, online presence is becoming more and more important. When you apply for job, HR is going to Google your name. According to the Pew Research study, young adults are more likely to restrict or censor what they share than older internet users. It appears that younger adults are more active in managing online reputation.  

I think what this all means for workshifting is that the idea of virtual reputations and relationships is gaining more acceptance. The future will tell how "open" our sharing of information will be when it comes to online reputation (see Facebook's recent privacy settings change).  But for now the trend of online reputation management is a good sign for workshifting and shows a clear acknowledgement of the importance of virtual relationships and reputation.

What do you think?

Photo Credit: Manfrys

Despite the mountain of data to support workshifting, many companies are challenged to get a viable workshifting program in place.  I believe it's because they are looking for a detailed road-map, and it's impractical to provide that level of detail.  

The reason, every business and every business culture are unique.  Yes, there are general similarities: employees, customers, revenue, and all the other obvious attributes of a sustainable business, but that's where much of the similarities end.  The common thread, no matter how diverse the business, is the intense desire from employees to workshift, and the willingness from management to learn how to make it happen.

The basic workshifting framework will help you develop the business case needed to roll out a pilot program.  


First, clearly define the objective and the problem that will be solved by implementing the program.  If you are not clear as to the value of the program, the organization will not be either.  

Next, define success and how it will be measured. Then identify the people and resources you'll need to make this happen.  As you identify people and resources, start to list the obstacles.  In other words, what are your blockers?

Once identified determine if the blockers are perceived or actual.  For example, do you know unequivocally that your organization values butt-in-seat time over all else? Sometimes the obstacle appears to loom large, but may only exist in the mind of a small handful of people.  If my example rings true with you, then you need to demonstrate productivity gains, improved real-estate efficiency, etc.

Next, identify a small group of employees that would like to participate in the program.  Once complete, you're ready to being socializing the pilot with the stakeholders.  Don't stop at socializing; you have to ask for the sale.  Get the thumbs up to green light the pilot.

It all sounds very tactical, but it's very important to remember to humanize the process.  Start the conversation with your peers.  Keep the dialogue moving and ask for honest, actionable feedback.  Ignore the trolls, every company has them.  

Create a groundswell in your organization.  Take responsibility for the outcome and make it happen.  Rolling out a workshifting program will be one of the most powerful statements a company will make to their employees.  It says, "I believe in your ability," above all else.

Nothing screams confidence more than a company's willingness to hand over the reins to the employees, and trust in their ability to achieve great results, irrespective of their physical location.  If you are the person that lead the charge, you are destined to become indispensable.

Quick List:

1.  Objective
2.  Success
3.  Resources
4.  Obstacles
5.  Volunteers
6.  Socialize
7.  Sell

In the spirit of collaboration, I encourage you to take this framework, build upon it, and share it.  My viewpoint is unique to my experience.  To make this meaningful and scalable for the community, add your experience and your voice

Workshifting is about more than just working from anywhere.  It's about a certain way to work.  Seasoned workshifters work differently than most other knowledge workers.  Many of the behaviours of workshifters are learned by necessity, but once learned, are found to be more effective than traditional methods.  Workshifting is not only positive for the freedom it gives to the worker, but the skills and lessons learned while workshifting can benefit almost all businesses and workers.  As such, the corporate world should take a good look at successful workshifters and see what it can learn from them. Here are just a few lessons that the corporate world can learn.


1) Not every e-mail is life and death

As a workshifter, you often have to contend with intermittent internet access. People who fly often know this feeling well. WiFi is not yet ubiquitous in the air, and as such, a long flight can often leave a road warrior without access to the internet or his emails for hours at a time. Strangely, this doesn't actually cause the world to end.

Office workers are all too aware of the familiar MS Outlook notification, or the buzz of the Blackberry.  The pressure to respond immediately means a break in the flow of whatever else you were doing, so that you can answer that e-mail instantly.

The workshifter, instead, will download his e-mails, and then while disconnected, take the opportunity to respond to all of them, and queue them into his outbox. Upon connectivity, the e-mail responses go out.  

A mandatory disconnection from the e-mail server would do office workers a world of good in both productivity and stress reduction.  The majority of us don't have jobs where an e-mail going without answer for 3 hours will make a difference.  If the subject of an e-mail were that important, then the sender would pick up the phone.  Also, by self-imposing e-mail blackouts, a worker trains his co-workers as to which medium to use for contacting him.  E-mail for regular communication, but a phone call for something that is urgent.

2) Employees do well with flexibility

Workshifting employees are generally more productive than their office-bound counterparts because they can do things according to their own rhythms.  Every individual has his own peaks and valleys of productivity throughout a day, and so, imposing the same schedule on everyone doesn't make sense. People perform better when they're given the opportunity to operate in an environment that best suits them.

In the coporate world, this manifests itself in a few ways.  Giving employees flex hours means that they can work when they're most efficient, instead of forcing both Tina, the mom with two kids who's up at 6 am, and Jim, the 20-something night owl to both come in to work at 9 am.

Opening up network firewalls also gives employees the flexibility to do what needs to get done.  If employees are getting the work done, recharging their creative batteries by checking Facebook for ten minutes will not harm the company.

Likewise, computer admin access for those who request it, can go a long way in an employee's productivity.  More and more people are becoming computer savvy, and those people develop their own preferences for the tools that they are most productive with.  Forcing them to use the tools that the company imposes upon them is handicapping them for no reason.

3) Focus on results

The workshifter doesn't count hours.  He can't because, oftentimes, he's working in between other commitments, at strange times, or in odd places.  Despite this, the workshifter still gets his work done.  This is because he focuses on results and not on how many hours were put in.  Workshifters work with tasks and projects, not with punch cards, and for that reason, they're more likely to get the job done, because instead of saying, "I'll work from X to Y," they say, "This needs to get done."

Similarly, the corporate world that is often predicated on a work schedule, and has the backwards habit of rewarding those who put in extra hours, could stand to learn a thing or two from the workshifter.  

By focusing on results, companies may see work get done quicker because employees don't have to fill up their days.  Instead, they get their work done, and that's all.  Just because one employee leaves at 4 pm, and the other leaves at 7 pm, it doesn't necessarily mean the one staying later is working harder.  More likely, the employee leaving earlier is working smarter.  However, there is no incentive for an employee to work smart if the company doesn't focus on results.

4) Work in any environment

Workshifters are used to working in any environment.  They work from offices, home, cafes, co-working spaces, trains, planes, hotels, and anywhere that they can set up.  Location independence is what makes them workshifters after all.  However, this kind of flexibility to work anywhere can benefit the corporate world as well.

By empowering employees to work from places other than their desks, productivity is maintained when they simply can't be there.  One example is employees who have to attend training seminars or conferences.  By allowing them the flexibility and tools to work from anywhere, they will still be able to be productive in between sessions.  Employees will not feel like they're falling behind, and employers get additional productivity.

In addition, giving the employee location flexibility can help to drastically reduce the loss of productivity from sick days.  When someone is feeling under the weather, they can choose to work from home.  That same person would either have not worked at all that day, or would have come in to work, and possibly gotten other people in the office sick, contributing to future productivity losses.

5) Push decision-making power down the chain of command

Another great trait of workshifters is their ability to get tough problems solved quickly and efficiently.  Because of their remoteness, they don't have the luxury of seeking advice, or waiting for someone else to make the call for them, and so they are forced to make quick decisions.

While this may be scary for some managers, at the end of the day, allowing employees to take more responsibility is more efficient and leads to more confident employees and a quicker more agile team.  When all decisions need to be approved by a manager, things bottleneck, and response time slows.  Employees often know exactly what the course of action to take is, but are afraid to do so, because they have never been empowered to do so.  Therefore, giving the employees the responsibility doesn't materially change the decision that's made, it just allows it to be reached faster.

The corporate world is constantly fighting against the ankle biters.  Those small firms that seem to steal away business simply because they're quicker and more agile.  By empowering employees, large firms can emulate the ankle biters and preserve their domain, while at the same time providing employees valuable leadership and decision-making experience which will allow them to grow within the company.

Conclusion

Workshifters, whether by necessity or ingenuity, have created a new way to work.  That way of working is faster and more efficient than many traditional ways of doing the same work.  There is no reason why traditional companies shouldn't learn from this new wave, and embrace some of the lessons that have come from it.


Photo Credit: mccun934

It's always cool to get questions from readers.  This one asks about jobs that allow workshifting:

"I would like some information on how to begin searching for occupations which allow workshifting.  Is there a well-maintained website listing potential companies/occupations in which workshifting is allowed/encouraged?"

I wish there was a one-stop shop of companies that offer workshifting.  And, if there is...I'm not aware of it.  My initial thought is each organization has their own unique corporate culture.  And jobs, while they may share the same title or some of the same responsibilities, aren't identical.  So even within the workshifting environment, not every workshifting situation would be exactly alike.  

One of the first things to consider when it comes to positions that include workshifting, are the actual responsibilities of the job itself.  Ask yourself are the tasks associated with the position ones you can do from anywhere at any time.  

Also consider what you would need in terms of equipment, workspace, etc.  I've seen people say, "All I need is a laptop."  And when they actually started doing the work, the list got much longer.  Understanding what is required to truly get the job done will make any conversation about workshifting go smoother.

After you know the details of the position, there are several places online where you can begin to look for openings.  Although none of these come with guarantees about workshifting, they are a great start:

Use lists to research organizations that might offer workshifting.  Examples are Fortune's 100 Best Companies, the Great Place to Work Institute and the Society for Human Resource Management's Best Small and Medium Companies to Work for in America, Working Mother 100 Best Companies and Brazen Careerist's Top 50 Gen Y Companies.   Most of the companies made their way on these lists because of their progressive thinking and creative human resources policies.

Find Twitter hashtags that can narrow your search.  Career Rocketeer published a post titled "Top 100+ Job Search Hashtags on Twitter".  Hashtags included on the list are #freelance, #home-employment, and #work-life.  All good places to monitor for potential openings that might be conducive to workshifting.

If you have a specific company, do a direct search of their company profile on LinkedIn to see if they mention anything about encouraging virtual teams, telecommuting, teleworking, etc.
Lastly, keep in mind that a position not workshifting today could be workshifting tomorrow.  Organizations change all the time and if you find a job that you really like, maybe the best approach is to do a great job and figure out a way to sell the company on allowing you to try workshifting.  Write a business case and ask for a trial period to show how it could work. 

If you or your organization are exploring adding workshifting jobs, The Office of Personnel Management and the General Services Administration have established a website, Telework.gov, to provide access to information about telework in the Federal Government.  Even if you weren't looking for a government job, there are resources available for individuals and employers about teleworking.  I found the self-assessment to be particularly interesting.

The most important factor in finding a workshifting occupation is understanding - yourself, the job, the company, the culture and how it can help the business be successful.


Photo Credit: Daniela Vladimirova

Two business researchers have a study coming out that suggests that many workers are afraid to speak out lest they be mocked by their peers and bosses. According to an HBR blog post, "we relentlessly work to avoid 'image risks,' ... In an analysis of responses from 425 employees in a variety of U.S. businesses, Yuan and Woodman found that worries about image risk significantly diminish employees' innovativeness."

In other words, people think shutting up is smarter than speaking out. And, in their workplaces, they may be right--which underscores the need for a broad culture shift to ignite innovation.

Can workshifters form the vanguard of this new movement?

This isn't an idle question. I was working on my own long before workshifting was a word and telecommuting was an acceptable business practice. I've found that workshifters innovate every day by trial and error, from testing new markets to tweaking our bookkeeping systems to something as mundane (but critically important) as figuring out the best way to recharge multiple devices on the go.

And we have one more big thing in common: we dare to be different.

Does workshifting make you fearless? If so, why?


Photo Credit: Man's Pic