Introduction
Freedom is defined per Oxford Languages as “the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint.” When discussing this subject: how to get more freedom at work, we aren’t lobbying for an “anything goes” environment, that would be anarchy. Instead we are promoting a work environment that allows owners, leadership, and team members to feel satisfied through the ability to choose how they will spend their time while accomplishing everything required of them, and then some.
Dissatisfaction Exposed
The lockdowns of 2020 and 2021 showed the world that many businesses could remain operational by employing functions from remote locations. This opened the door to new possibilities and flexibility for team members, accompanied by new challenges for leaders. Organizations with weak company cultures and inadequate leadership were exposed as they no longer had the ability to physically oversee their team members' productivity to keep them on track.
For the first time, businesses across the board had to trust that employees would operate in integrity without constant supervision. As time progressed, team members were given more autonomy and freedom. There were plenty of situations in which the ‘trust’ was abused and remote work for some, turned out to be too much to handle. However, in other situations team members were able to get all of their projects and tasks done efficiently, correctly, and in less time than when they were onsite.
Effective team members hadn’t become more talented, educated, or passionate about their work all of a sudden, so why the increase in productivity? It turns out, per a study conducted by Owl Labs, people are more productive when they are happier, and people are happier when they can work from home. There are several reasons they claimed to be happier working from home: like being present with family, having a better work-life balance, better mental health, and lower stress. It is more interesting however, what they did not say: working from home came with more freedom because of decreased supervision. No one overtly stated that life was better without their boss, and rightfully so. Making such a statement is risky for anyone who wants to remain on the payroll.
Dissatisfaction Incarnate
As people have begun returning to work onsite over the past year, they picked up where they left off before the pandemic. Data presented in a survey conducted by ADP shows mental health is suffering once again. People are more frustrated, stressed, and disengaged than before the lockdowns. In fact, 71% of workers divulged that they have considered a major career move this year.
There’s a saying that goes “people don’t quit their jobs, they quit their bosses”. There are a lot of great bosses out there, but bosses are people, and people are fallible. Even the greatest of bosses will fall short in one way or another, every now and then. For thousands of years, bosses have been given the stigma of “oppressor” by their workers. It wasn’t until the 20th century that employees began to stand up and gain ground against unacceptable behavior.
Dissatisfaction in the Present Day
Historically, workers would essentially “tough it out” and continue to report to work day in and day out regardless of the abuse and harassment. Most of those workers didn’t have freedom at work, much less any notion of a work-life balance. Thankfully, with so many options, we do not have to subject ourselves to this today. If a boss is demonstrating signs of toxicity, we can take legal action or move on to another opportunity.
Toxic workplaces don’t always have to do with a disrespectful or bully of a boss. Most of the time, the chief complaints are that the employee isn’t feeling heard or respected. The company may not be valuing them, they might have to work crazy hours, or maybe there’s simply not enough support coming from management. Whatever the initial complaint, the problem can be traced back to lack of freedom or control and loss of hope that things will change.
Addressing Dissatisfaction
When employees aren’t feeling valued, leadership needs to address the root causes immediately. If there is a leadership deficiency or culture problem, the company could lose much more than a single disgruntled employee. Odds are, the work issues that are affecting one employee are likely felt by others; and if leadership doesn't act fast the negativity can spread throughout the organization like a poison.
To keep employees satisfied, engaged, and productive, they need to have purpose. Leadership must show team members how their actions affect the whole organization and move it towards accomplishing the company mission. Team members need to be empowered to make decisions in the best interest of the company without being micromanaged or criticized. Giving each other more freedom at work promotes loyalty.
How to Get More Freedom at Work
With great freedom comes great responsibility. The challenge then becomes, how to give everyone an acceptable level of freedom in which all parties will be satisfied. As with any successful hierarchical relationship, the key is to clearly set the expectation for each role. Employees can be highly-productive when they know their accountabilities and have all the resources they need to be successful.
In order for everyone to get more freedom at work (owners and leaders included), the company needs to have a strong culture, clear processes, and goal alignment. When everyone is on the same page it’s much easier to trust each other. This means each person is clear on:
how to conduct themselves
what is acceptable and what is not
how to get things done correctly
the fact that they all have the same goal
Determining and assigning each person a meaningful Key Performance Indicator (KPI) for a weekly activity will help put leadership’s minds at ease. Monitoring the important metrics for each person regularly will signify whether or not they are on track and using their freedom appropriately.
Conclusion
People have demonstrated they are more productive when they are satisfied. If their work-life balance is out of whack, or they are losing the mental health battle at work, the company will lose them. By giving the team more freedom at work through empowerment and the ability to choose how they will spend their time to accomplish their objectives, the company will start seeing loyalty. Everyone including owners, leadership, and team members alike will be accomplishing everything required of them, and more.
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