In 2005, I became the President and CEO of a mid-sized educational and cultural exchange organization. I was determined to shake things up as I always believed our company was more conservative than it needed to be.
Our field was all about helping young people live their dreams through travel and study abroad, yet our office seemed "old" to me. The former president used to be the company auditor and had a financial background. I came from the marketing side and had spent my career writing and traveling. So, I decided to change the company culture. The first to go was our tie and jacket dress code. Basically, employees could just be comfortable and wear what they liked. Staff loved it, but the HR folks didn't like the flip flops and some executives took issue with the casual vibe, but we did it anyway.
I was just getting started. I created an open-door policy and did away with the chain-of-command attitude. I started a monthly meeting called "Breakfast with Bill" so I could get to know new staff in a relaxed manner. We also started a New Horizons committee to identify rising talent who would likely become the next managers and executives.
Next up was to make it a priority to hire more diverse staff. In that mindset, we were determined to make changes in our field, so we organized a Diversity Workshop in Washington DC bringing in 100 education leaders from across the US. We enlisted the support of top organizations such as the Institute for International Education, Diversity Abroad, and the Hispanic Association of Colleges & Universities to cosponsor the event. It was a success- and a delight to see so many leaders embracing the same vision.
We were on a roll – our company began doing more service-related activities and started a Community Outreach committee to work on local, charitable projects. Then we increased our employee benefits and added tuition reimbursement. We moved our office and designed a modern, more comfortable space so we could foster the social atmosphere we craved. Along with that came an (enormous) cappuccino machine, food trucks, Lunch & Learn seminars, and wellness events - neck massages included.
None of these were revolutionary or necessarily ahead-of-the-curve ideas, but they came from an earnest desire I had to have our work culture represent what was happening outside the double glass doors of our office. We were hip and fun - and it worked for a while.
Then, it all stopped. And we watched as our lives changed – seemingly overnight.
The George Floyd killing captured the country’s attention and then the pandemic came and scared us. It bewildered us. We would never be the same. These were seismic shifts in our consciousness as a nation – and they were also the catalysts for a new wave of change in my company. We got smaller. Layoffs and retirements which were once few and far between, were now a normal occurrence. The "great resignation" was about to be a reality.
When we left the office on that sunny spring day in March 2020, we thought we’d be back soon. We really did.
We left our offices just as they were. Computers on, post-it notes in place. We were set up for remote work; we had the hardware and the software all figured out – but were we prepared? In a word, no.
How would this work? How would we spend our days? At first, we spent them in seclusion with the light of our laptop screens. We were confined to the little boxes of Zoom and Teams. This is how we would see each other. This is how we would relate. Or would we relate?
It was odd at first. Our Board of Directors meeting soon after the lockdown was held entirely by conference call. I remember I talked a lot but in reality, there wasn’t much to say. We were in shock and trying to find our way. The first six months we were more concerned with our finances because there was no telling when our business would be back. I spoke with my fellow CEOs in the field, and we were all anxious – and not just about business. We were anxious to get back to the office itself. Back to life as we knew it. We wanted our desks, our conference phones, our coffee machines – and the friendly faces of our colleagues and staff.
I was determined that we would revert back, we would see office life return. Work from home couldn’t last, could it?
As the months went by, I began to see a shift. I started to change my mind about "WFH." My biggest fear was losing the corporate culture I worked so hard to develop. But frankly a lot of it had begun to fade over the years. What once was fresh, began to get a bit stale. We were trying so hard to make the office just like home, but what we really wanted, was to actually be home.
While all the CEOs did their best to deny it - there were so many new benefits about our new work arrangements. We could go to the office if we wanted to – on purpose, not because the schedule demanded it. Then when you came in – it was an event and we were happy to collaborate, chat and catch-up.
Most people loved coming in one day a week. Some came in more. By 2022, it felt almost natural to be at home most days. The work was getting done virtually. Imagine that. No commute, no dry cleaning, no gas to pump. No having to drive in the snow and no traffic to fight. We could run errands any time and see the dentist without rushing back to the office while still numb from the Novocain. Picking up the kids didn’t have to be a mad dash at the stoke of 5 o’clock. The benefits of working from home were undeniable. Time changed us and yet it seemed to happen so fast.
Me? I missed the social activities, seeing my friends and joking around. But to be honest, keeping my own schedule works for me. I like to work at the crack of dawn when my London office is hitting its mid-day. I enjoy breakfast with my wife, and I like seeing my dog. I like to nap at 2 and knock off by 4. Aside of travel (which I dearly miss), I get my work done, my priorities more succinct.
And it seems to be much the same with my staff. Autonomy over their time has made a real difference in their lives. When you remove the 9-5, people find their zone. They hit their stride because now it’s their own time – not the office time. Deadlines take on new meaning. In the past, a lot of our work week was just “being at work” rather than actual working. Happy employees with well-balanced lives are employees that give it their all. Of course, time will be the ultimate judge of our success. But when the staff is happy, I am happy.
But what about our mission? What about our passion for cultural exchange? Surprisingly our company mission has taken center stage. With the unnecessary inconveniences removed, we can focus on the things that matter. We can focus on the students and families we serve. The quality of the work we do is now the priority – not where we do it.
Two years ago, I wouldn’t have believed this. But as usual, time has a way of revealing what’s essential, what’s vital - and what is not.
I admit, there are some challenges. How will staff get noticed and promoted without the social interaction? Will we get better at training new hires in the virtual world? Along with everything else, we will figure it out.
As for me, when I start to travel again- I will be rejuvenated. We’ll all be on planes and in meetings and visiting people again soon. I’ll be at conferences, cocktail in hand, networking, laughing, and having a great time. I’m a people person after all, so that won’t change.
But the office? The office as we knew it, is dead.
And it’s not coming back any time soon.
