Full-Four: Full Remote, Full Flex, Full Async, Full Mask

#remote #flex #async #workstyle

Background

The Return to the Office Leads to Talent Shortage

After the pandemic subsided, the trend of returning to the office has reignited. It's often said that in-person collaboration leads to higher productivity and satisfaction, but I remain skeptical. Gathering people and binding them to a location is exploitative, and achieving high results under such conditions is hardly surprising.

On the other hand, we live in an era of improved living standards. It's only natural given advancements in technology, methodology, and concepts. Engineers might dislike it, and despite President Trump dismissing it in the US, the concept of DEIB exists. High-density collaboration due to a return to the office contains not a shred of DEI (Belonging aside). This is because we are all individuals, and human lifestyles vary. A singular mode of working such as being in-office or in-person doesn't cover everyone and inevitably leaves some individuals behind. Alternatively, people might just 'quiet quit' and go through the motions.

There is talk of talent shortages, including in IT. In fact, it feels like we've always been hearing this. The reason is simple: the lack of diversity in a singular working style which causes many to slip through the cracks. We must expand the ways in which we work.

Four Perspectives to Expand Our Ways of Working

Articulating and customizing ways of working is precisely where Knowledger excels. As a Knowledge Architect, I have designed various working styles for a range of organizations from small teams to large companies.

This time, I introduce four "universal perspectives" applicable to any organization:

Full Remote
- Work is always done remotely. There are no office visits (or business trips) or they are rare, without any regular necessity.
Full Flex
- There are no core hours, allowing employees to work during their preferred hours.
Full Async
- Communication is always asynchronous. Meetings, whether in-person or remote, are non-existent or rare.
Full Mask
- Plain Identity refers to one's real name, appearance, and gender.
- For some reason, we are often compelled to use our Plain Identity, but with Full Mask, that is unnecessary. Plain Identity can be concealed, and dummy identities can be used.

Each point is prefixed by 'Full', which can also be considered as 'default'. It indicates that these practices are fundamentally applied at all times. For example, Full Remote tilts completely towards remote work as opposed to a half-hearted hybrid approach. While exceptional instances of office visits or business trips might occur, they remain the exception. We won't easily hide behind terms like hybrid. Thus, certain aspects become more visible. To expand our ways of working, one must thoroughly break away from primitive modes of operation.