Imagine a job where you show up at the office only when you want to, never punch a time clock and never attend a meeting. If you want to go shopping in the afternoon, you could just leave. You could work at home when you want, and attend your kid’s events or even just volunteer at their school.
Employees at the corporate office of Best Buy in Minnesota have just this type of arrangement. They call it a Results Only Work Environment (ROWE). Employees are accountable only for getting their jobs done. That is, their performance is judged based on whether or not they meet pre-determined objectives for their job, attendance is not a concern. Even hourly workers have flexibility to work when they want.
According to an article in BusinessWeek, productivity is up on average 35% in departments that have implemented ROWE (see full article). It just makes sense. Research has consistently supported the idea that workers who have the flexibility to meet their personal needs are more committed to their employers and work harder.
What I find most interesting about Best Buy’s ROWE is that it is an employee-driven program. Top management wasn’t aware of ROWE until the movement was well under way. This, I believe, is the key to increasing the number of organizations that offer flexible work options. Companies are resistant to implementing flexible work despite the growing body of research that supports it. Managing flexible workers takes more effort and often management doesn’t know where to start. Therefore, employees must start the movement by requesting more flexibility. Moreover, employees must be prepared to show management how flexible work will succeed.
