Houston, we have a problem

Peter du ToitI'm the founder of FutureWork IQ where I spend my time assisting businesses to design digital workplaces or “offices in the cloud.” These environments enable companies to allow flexible and remote working for their teams. I also teach the digital literacy, fluency, communication and collaboration skills needed to work in these modern technology-rich workplaces.

“Some managers believe that their employees are most efficient when someone is constantly watching over them, peeking [over] their shoulder and making sure they are actually working.”— Nadia Harris-Kosior

As the workforce becomes more distributed and anywhere work becomes possible thanks to offices in the cloud, which in many cases are replacing physical offices, new skills must be developed to manage in this new environment. Management by sight is highly problematic in a modern digital, work from anywhere, workplace.

PS. As an aside, if you DO need to be peeking over someone’s shoulder to ensure they get their work done, you may have actually hired the wrong person, no?