More companies are using "bossware" to track workers | How empowered employees are changing the workplace | Employers ease pandemic safety measures, survey finds
More companies are using work-monitoring software, known as "bossware," to track workers' digital activity and give feedback to managers. Use of such platforms have spiked amid the pandemic, as more employees are working from home full time or on a hybrid schedule, but critics have expressed concerns about the validity of productivity scores and the potential impact to worker mental health. Full Story: The Guardian (London) (4/27)
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Remote working and flexible schedules will likely be permanent as employees gain power and companies focus on making the workforce their main stakeholder, says Marcus Buckingham, head of the ADP Research Institute and an author. "We learned from the pandemic that we can actually maintain and increase our productivity if people aren't in the office all the time," Buckingham says. Full Story: TIME (tiered subscription model) (4/24)
The six small-business winners of a national health plan innovation award successfully reconfigured their health insurance offerings to be more flexible, expand care access and reduce patient costs. Implementing ideas such as relationship-based direct primary care and direct contracts with local hospital systems also allowed employers to lower their own costs. Full Story: BenefitsPRO (free registration) (4/26)
Technology
Torch takes coaching, development in a new direction Torch combines digital learning, embedded mentoring and coaching and creates structure for a "program-centric" platform that's comprehensive and gives sticky results, writes Josh Bersin. Customers can further personalize Torch, Bersin writes, to suit an organization's content, values and competencies, allowing leaders to focus on behavior changes within the organization. Full Story: Josh Bersin blog (4/23)
The manager role has been upended by changes in technology, team structures and mindset and must be rethought in terms of "performance coaching than about being a task overseer," says Lynda Gratton, a professor at London Business School and founder of HSM. "If you have in your organization, not a frozen middle, but a burnt-out middle, now is the time to act on that," Gratton says. Full Story: Harvard Business Review (tiered subscription model) (4/26)
About the Editor
Kanoe Namahoe
So I did a thing this week – something I’m excited about, but my mother is less so. I bought a motorcycle. I’ve long wanted to learn how to ride. So when my best friend, Ray, found the bike -- a cherry red Honda Shadow -- on Facebook Marketplace, I jumped at it. “This is the perfect starter bike for you,” he said as we drove out to get it. “Just 600ccs and we can upgrade you in a few months, after you’ve gotten comfortable with it.” So I’ve spent the last few afternoons tooling around the streets of my complex, learning how to shift gears, balance, turn corners, brake and avoid aggressive geese that live nearby. I wish I could say I look like Angelina Jolie in Tomb Raider, but no. I’m more like Runaway Ralph. Ray is my teacher. He’s an expert rider; he’s been riding for more than 30 years and has taught many people how to ride. I trust him. Our lessons have gone well for the most part but last night it got a bit tense between us. He was giving me a lot of directions -- “Clutch in, shift, gas! Walk it, walk it -- look up!” -- and I was struggling to process it quickly. It was early evening, my Adderall had worn off and my brain was slower. The lesson ended fine -- I made it around the park several times -- and we went inside the house to eat. But I could feel the tension between us as we began cooking. I finally spoke. “Hey,” I said and he turned around. “For the next lesson, would you remind me to take my Adderall? The 10mg? That will help me a ton.” I explained how I had trouble keeping up with his directions and that the Adderall can help me focus and sort out what he’s saying. He nodded and agreed to remind me. That broke the tension and we were able to talk through the lesson. He pulled me back out to the bike to walk through some of the issues I’d had. He had me sit on the bike, then stood behind me and put his hands over mine and so I could see exactly what I needed to do in each scenario. He talked slower and did a lot of pointing and moving my hands. It was so helpful. Personalized coaching and development works, as we see in today's Technology story. People learn differently, as Ray discovered with me. Offering tools that meet folks where they are is not only smart, it communicates to them that you're invested in their progress too. How can I serve you better with this brief? Let me know! And if you enjoy this brief, tell others so they can benefit also.
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