The inaugural 2024 Centre for Transformative Work Design (CTWD) Convention was the primary of a sort in bringing over 350 coverage makers, practitioners and researchers collectively from over 15 international locations to share and form concepts about how one can make work more healthy, happier and extra optimistic and productive.
Going down in Perth Australia in February 2024, the convention explored questions, similar to:
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What function does work design play in bettering motivation and efficiency?
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Can work design predict the probability of chief emergence?
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How does job crafting contribute to particular person and organisational efficiency?
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Which office calls for are inflicting probably the most burnout, and what methods can we make use of to fight them?
Tailor-made Pondering have been (completely) honoured to be invited to current and take part as “distinguished practitioners” and on many events needed to pinch ourselves to be sharing the identical stage as a few of the main thinkers and doers of labor design on the earth.
Between them, Rob and Charlotte have been invited to kick-start the convention with some “convention crafting”, chair an business panel, ship a job crafting masterclass, and share insights about how our Job Canvas can enhance conversations round work design.
Thanks to everybody on the CTWD and Way forward for Work Institute at Curtin College for curating such an amazingly stimulating, collaborative, sensible and evidence-rich convention.
A few of our key takeaways
This can be a abstract of a few of the key takeaways we (Rob Baker and Charlotte Axon) took from the convention. Like kids it’s onerous to choose favourites, however these are a few of the rapid and most distinguished observations we made.
As ever when making notes on talks we at all times fear about diluting concepts or doing audio system a disservice. So we recognise these takeaways are at greatest a snapshot and at worst (however most likely) reductive. Any misinterpretation or misrepresentation of the talks are right down to us.
1) Our work must get SMARTER (Rob)
One of many fashions that saved “popping up” in periods, references and sensible assets was the SMART work design mannequin developed by Professor Sharon Parker.
The mannequin identifies 5 key SMART themes to contemplate when creating, reviewing or re-wiring work: Stimulating, Mastery, Company, Relational and Tolerable calls for.
You possibly can consider these elements as a balanced scorecard in terms of creating and sustaining nice work.
While I’ve lengthy been an admirer of the SMART work design mannequin, a key reflection for me was how sensible and highly effective the mannequin was when it comes to encouraging reflections and discussions about work, wellbeing and efficiency and how one can buffer damaging stress and pressure.
Sitting in a beautiful masterclass with Cati Thomas and Dr. Arian Kunzelmann gave me numerous sensible concepts and case research about how SMART had been utilized by organisations to create extra significant and motivational work.
Key takeaway
The SMART mannequin is a framework that I feel ought to be within the toolkit of all progressive, people-oriented leaders and one thing we will probably be referencing extra within the work we do at Tailor-made Pondering.
Exploring additional
An amazing introduction to SMART is the The SMART WORK design web site.
2) Hybrid stays a world problem however one we have to get proper (Charlotte)
Does hybrid work stay a scorching debate? Sure it does!
Hybrid working was one other key theme on the Convention. On one hand, I used to be struck by how a lot unbelievable analysis has been undertaken on account of shifts in working fashions, spurred on by COVID-19. Alternatively, I used to be difficult myself to maintain asking: “so, what can we do with this?”
Most enterprise leaders weren’t in a position to watch for analysis to make essential selections about the place and the way work was carried out. The experiments and debates proceed in observe as they do in analysis. Nevertheless a number of conclusions stood out to me from the most recent analysis:
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Being within the workplace received’t essentially enhance belonging – in line with Dr Reb Rebele’s newest analysis, belonging was not associated to workplace attendance or to being co-located with one’s workforce. Nevertheless, it was associated to worker character traits, work attitudes, and function traits
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Variability issues – a constant sample of hybrid work is assumed to have a extra optimistic impression on employees with caring tasks than a sample with excessive variability (Dr Bichen Guan)
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Alternative issues – location autonomy (autonomy to decide on the place to carry out work from) had a optimistic impression on task-environment match, which in flip led to higher absorption, larger job satisfaction, and decrease psychological misery (Affiliate Professor Matthew Davis)
Hybrid work is quick turning into embedded in work preparations however I’m unsure I’ve seen a lot proof of organisations getting it proper. Have you ever?
Key takeaways
Alternative and autonomy are key. It’s unlikely that one strategy will work for everybody nevertheless it may be useful to think about ‘freedom inside a framework’ i.e. applicable flexibility and autonomy inside a broader set of shared expectations.
How we outline ‘hybrid working’ is vital – each for analysis and observe. The definitions differ, as do individuals’s preparations. But when we need to perceive one thing I feel we at the very least must be clear about what that factor is.
Exploring additional
College of Leeds Future Office analysis is featured on this BBC Worklife article: The hidden inflexibility of hybrid work. Matthew Davis is working a web based occasion on April 18 about hybrid working.
