The New Zealander who heads the National Australia Bank (NAB), Ross McEwan, is a big fan of sport, as well as ensuring that people spend good amounts of time working and talking together in shared spaces. On a post-pandemic-lockdown trip to the footy with NAB staff and clients in early 2022, he remarked about the human need for his people to talk with each other which was especially clear after so many months of being forced to work from home.71 At that footy match, hardly anyone watched the game because they were re-engaging with each other after such a long time in relative isolation. McEwan acknowledged the significant change to work expectations after the pandemic. Of course, NAB and other large companies may need to offer flexible work and more work-from-home options for staff in the future. However, he is sure being isolated from workspace connection and missing out on shared face-to-face work experiences could create a risk of stunting people’s networking skills and, therefore, their careers. The trick will be in finding the balance between what employees find empowers them to be most productive and what is optimal for promoting opportunities for interaction. Neither forcing people to work from home nor compelling them to only stay on the worksite are effective. One investigation by University of Melbourne researchers warns against assuming staff will appreciate having a flexible work option. Yet other research by Cambridge and Oxford universities and Boston College in a trial in 100 companies in the UK is showing that a radical change to a 4-day working week (while still being paid for 5 days) is proving to be empowering and motivating.72 Overall, implementing flexible work arrangements requires very careful consideration, with managers needing to ensure coordination across interrelated tasks. Critical hours required for full capacity operation should be identified. While empowerment and motivation of staff are the objectives of flexible working arrangements, the actual outcome has to be carefully monitored. The popular generalisation – that flexibility is great for everybody – might have some fallacious aspects. 

Reflection question
How can managers empower employees with flexible working arrangements while promoting opportunities for networking and other workplace interaction?