More and more business these days are starting to wake up to the fact that just paying someone to be a bum in a seat for a set amount of hours a day is no longer motivation enough to keep people loyal or satisfied.
Richard Branson, for example, has setup his businesses now so that employees can take as much holiday as they want. This came about when he heard of another company whose morale, creativity and productivity went through the roof when they did the same.
The policy that the company ‘Netflix’ adopted was that salaried staff could take off whenever they want for as long as they want, without the need for prior approval or for the time to be tracked. Instead the focus is on developing a culture of ‘Freedom and Responsibility’ which then regulates productivity.
Netflix themselves went on to say, ‘We should focus on what people get done, not on how many hours or days worked. Just as we don’t have a nine-to-five policy, we don’t need a vacation policy.’
Imagine, a business world where freedom and enjoying life are more important than adherence to outdated policies and procedures aimed at running a tight, yet fragile ship.
Times and Tides Are A Changing
Let’s face it, so many old paradigms just don’t cut it anymore. From our education and political systems through to our business and management structures, there’s a massive opportunity for more ‘enlightened’ entrepreneurs to blaze a new and more exciting trail for others to follow.
Just because things may have worked a certain way in the past, doesn’t mean that we should just blindly keep doing the same thing into the future.
It’s incredibly refreshing to see that progressive minded companies are starting to switch onto the fact that lack staff loyalty and motivation are costing them millions. From low productivity to high turnover if your staff are not happy in the workplace, then the numbers will show it.
Not only is it a massive headache to keep on trying to replace good people, the amount of time and money that goes into training just one person is very costly to any business.
Imagine a business model, like Netflix uses, where they are virtually eliminating this from happening. Who wouldn’t want to work for someone that encourages you to bring out the best in yourself and your team, and rewards you with incredible flexibility of hours and days as a reward.
What Does The Future For Workplaces Hold?
It’s already happening. When people like Richard Branson do something in their business that is cutting edge, the world watches and learns. You don’t get to be so successful at everything your do by accident.
Another company that is leading the way and reinventing work is ‘Mindvalley‘. At Mind Valley they believe that work needs to be fun, educational and something that you are so enthusiastic about that you can’t wait to go to work each day.
They have said, ‘screw-it’ to the conventional 9-5 paradigm and instead encourage their people to be creative, learn new things, develop themselves and treat it more like play time – all the while getting paid for it. They have already won several awards for having one of the most desirable and different work cultures anywhere in the world.
If this trend continues, then the future of workplaces is looking a lot brighter. I still believe that we will see a massive surge in people working from home even with larger companies as they cotton onto the fact that giving employees a chance at a better lifestyle while staying productive in work is a no-brainer.
Even more than that I see a rise in Entrepreneurs hitting the world market as more and more people start wanting to become the master of their own creative and financial destiny.
Being able to have as many holidays at work as you like provided you are getting your projects completed is a super-smart idea. I apply something similar to my own business where I reward myself for productivity and gives those that work for me total freedom to set their hours and days as long as they get their weekly tasks completed on time, every-time.
At the end of the day you really want to have people working for you who are able to hold themselves accountable. If they are the type of person that needs their hand held everyday just to make sure they are doing their work, then they are not a good fit for your or anybody’s business really.
Never hesitate to let go of people who are holding your business back and replace them with people who can help you build your vision with ease. Most of all though, always reward people who are loyal and trustworthy. Too little of this happens which is why so many employees are demotivated by going to work.
It’s a brave new dawn in business and I can’t wait to see what the future brings.
