ROWE Boosts Employee Moral...and Retention

For years we have heard that the Internet would revolutionize the way we work. While the impact of its use cannot be denied (email, research, e-commerce, and the list goes on), where we work from most has remained in the office. If anything, an argument can be made that the Internet has increased employer expectations for the number of hours employees work per week. In fact, in the five years the number of overworked Americans has increased 16%.

Best Buy has a program called the results oriented work environment (ROWE) that allows employees to work when they like as long as they get the job done. This might sound like an easy program to implement, but when you begin to think about the cultural change that this program needs to be successful, it seems daunting. I think the most important part of this article is that employees do not know whether or not they have worked more or less with the new program...they simply stopped counting.

The stress of life, work, relationships, errands, kids and even veterinarian visits can be overwhelming. If you ever read the book Getting Things Done, by David Allen, you know that the definition of work is anything occupying your mind. For most of us, separating work from personal chores and duties is impossible and, to that extent, the definition of "being professional" in the workplace is even changing with more people recognizing this fact.

I applaud Best Buy and their adaptation to the times and needs of their employees. Having a family myself, I only wish other employers would trust their employees to make responsible decisions.