Reflection 2 - Why work doesn´t happen at work (TED talk by Jason Fried)

Jason Fried discusses, in his TED talk, why employees don’t tend to be productive at work within the work time. Companies build up places where the work is aim to happen. Fried argue about the exclusivity of every individual’s ability to concentrate and get things done, which don’t always have to be at the work office. I agree with him in this part, there are many distractions that affect the productivity of the daily work.  But the whole idea have made me fragmented, there is always pros and cons about this kind of topic. Play with the thought about none-office companies.

Cons

The individual – The employees that appreciate working at other locations or other times can be left out. The other colleagues forgets about the person and the person doesn’t become a part of the group. This can lead to lack of the team spirit within the company.

The Counterparts –There are some norms within the business industry that requires availability of the counterpart when business is done. If all employees would make their on schedule there may be a risk that the company couldn’t be available for the suppliers and customers.

The Company - I think Fried forgets something important about having many people at the same place in the same time, the interaction. Interaction between people can contribute fast and necessary decision making. There are decisions that are urgent and problem-solving extending over several different areas of work within the company.

Pros

The individual – The employees can do their work on chord and then save valuable time to do other things to improve theirselves. The individual can than choose to do the work whenever or wherever he/she want. This result in a more productive day and hours can be saved instead of losing this on disturbances.

The Counterparts – If employees like to work at different times of the day the counterpart can utilize the services of the company. The company then can improve the availability and also the customer service.

The Company – The companies get more flexible and hopefully more productive when they let employees decide when and where by themselves. Save time and money by don’t let the employees distract each other.

Of course there is things that don’t are urgent and problem-solving that can be solved apart from others. But to be a part of the company I think that knowing your colleagues is a good thing.  I see the company like a cycle that needs every part to build a entirety. That’s why I think the distance between workers should not be every day but there may be some day of the week that workers are allowed to work where ever and whenever they want. 

 

Reference

http://www.ted.com/talks/jason_fried_why_work_doesn_t_happen_at_work