3rd International Workshop on Changing Nature of

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Technology has afforded a model of work that has been sketched by Wyner and Malone as Cyber-cowboys .... heights is enough to fill a man's heart. One must ...
3rd International Workshop on Changing Nature of Work Pattern of crafting work in high-performance work environment: Sisyphos reconsidered Stefan Klein, University of Münster, [email protected] Stefan Schellhammer, University of Münster, [email protected] Abstract Technology has afforded flexible and highly decentralized models of work and have built a performance based management culture around it. Typically, employees are well equipped with up to date devices and gadgets in order to facilitate a nomadic workstyle but also to enable communication whenever it may be needed. The organizational framework, the freedom to craft one’s work and the customer focus, resembles that of selfemployed individuals and have contradictory effects: they are embraced as liberating and empowering on the one side and relentless and prone to self-endangering work practices on the other. The talk will introduce an ongoing study in collaboration with IBM that combines biometric measurements with qualitative analysis of individuals, which have been recognized as high performers. We are trying to identify pattern of sustainable work, in other words, how do individuals craft their work so that it affords wellbeing? Conceptually we draw on Antonovsky’s (1979) concept of “salutogenesis” and the notion of crafting work (Wrzesniewski, A., & Dutton, J. E. 2001).

Introduction: Transformation of work Technology has afforded a model of work that has been sketched by Wyner and Malone as Cyber-cowboys, connected decentralized decision-makers: highly decentralized units, who have extensive leeway to conduct their work when, where and how they want, as long as the outcome meets their company’s performance targets (Wyner & Malone, 1995). Corporate performance culture Many corporation have embraced the decentralized model and have built a performance based management culture around it (Perlow & Kelly, 2014). Employees have as much autonomy and freedom as the work environment allows for, but their performance is closely monitored and they have to meet well defined, but increasingly difficult to meet targets, sometimes reflecting a shrinking workforce. Typically, employees are well equipped with up to date devices and gadgets (tablets, smartphones etc.) in order to facilitate their nomadic workstyle (Arnold, 2003; Lyytinen & Yoo, 2002) but also to enable communication whenever it may be needed. The organizational framework, the freedom to craft one’s work and the customer focus, resembles that of self-employed individuals. 1

Employees’ work practices This organizational framework is suitable for performance oriented individuals, who cherish the freedom, which allows for individual lifestyle choices and enables individuals to take care of family and friends. Yet, there is growing evidence that the ”anytime and anywhere” work model can easily turn into a haunting “everytime and everywhere” model, i.e. individuals cherish their freedom and at the same time find it difficult to cope with the flipside of this freedom: the need to craft work, to pace oneself, to decide when enough is enough, to take breaks and more generally to find sustainable patterns of work suitable for wellbeing (Latniak & Gerlmaier, 2006). Research questions IT and consultancy are two industries, which are not only propagating the sketched organizational model (Cisco, 2012) but they are also highly influential as role models and drivers of organizational transformation for numerous other industries. At the same time there is evidence that the new ways of working have contradictory effects: they are embraced as liberating and empowering on the one side and relentless and prone to selfendangering work practices (Krause et al., 2014) on the other. Therefore, we are trying to identify sustainable pattern of work. In other words, how do individuals craft their work so that it affords wellbeing? The notion of crafting work emphasizes the active role of the employees in changing the design of work and their social environment and thus affects the meaning of work and work identity (Wrzesniewski & Dutton, 2001). In order to conceptualize the “meaning of work” we are using Antonovsky’s notion of “sense of coherence” (Antonovsky, 1993, 1979), which is defined as: “(1) a global orientation that expresses the extent to which one has a pervasive, enduring though dynamic feeling of confidence that the stimuli deriving from one's internal and external environments in the course of living are structured, predictable, and explicable; (2) the resources are available to one to meet the demands posed by these stimuli; and (3) these demands are challenges, worthy of investment and engagement” (Antonovsky, 1987, p. 19).

Research design This is an exploratory study, which compares and contrasts participants bio-metrical data with various forms of qualitative data (short interviews, focus groups, diaries, personal feedback). It aims to sensitize the participants to crafting work and wellbeing. It tries to actively engaging them in self-reflection and sharing among peers in order to identify helpful routines and orientations. We have been able to work with a technology company (XTec), which has set-up a dedicated training and coaching program of high-performing employees. Sales and sales related employees in the highest 10% performance percentile have been invited to participate in the program. Our study has been accepted as an integrated albeit voluntary part of XTec’s training program. 2

As indicator of wellbeing we have been collecting 24h heart rate variability (HRV) measurements using small bio-sensor devices. HRV measures the variation of intervals between two heartbeats (RR interval variation). The RR interval variation is influenced by the autonomic nervous system: a dynamic balance of sympathetic and parasympathetic autonomic nervous system (Berntson et al., 1997). It has been found to be a valid method to measure the autonomic effects of workplace, e.g. work environment, workloads, and working time (Togo & Takahashi, 2009). The measurements took place during a two day coaching seminar, which provided a “normalized” and comparable day, even though it was not a normal work day for the participants. In order to become meaningful, HRV data have to be contextualized. Therefore we have had 10 min interviews prior to the workshop to collect basic information about the professional situation and we asked specifically, if the interviewees perceive their current pace of work as sustainable (sensitizing). During the workshop we have organized focus group sessions in order to explore their sense of coherence around themes such as “The perfect work day”, “sources of meaning and satisfaction”, “perceived appreciation for efforts” and “sources of pride in XTec” (sharing). Based on the analysis of the HRV data, an individual feedback and coaching session of about an hour with two consultants is offered. It functions as Joint sensemaking of the HRV data by relating them to diary entries and interview data (sensemaking and orientation). In this way, the HRV measurements have become the prompts for an exploration of work practices and the sense of coherence. Preliminary Findings Sensitizing The question about the sustainability of the current pace during the brief interviews yielded a broad spectrum of responses from spontaneous “yes” or “no” to “this is a difficult question” or “I think I can manage, but currently my work pace is not sustainable”. The answers came based on quite diverse career paths and work experience: some were well advanced in their careers and claimed to have developed a good grip at their daily tasks, while others highlighted frequent changes in their social work setting (superiors, peers and clients) and places of work (e.g. customers distributed across several countries). Sharing The reflection on a “perfect workday” highlighted the performance based culture of XTec: “meeting the quarterly targets”, “having a customer sign a big contract after an extended period of hard work and strong competition” were frequent answers. Some participants focused more on their personal achievements: “when I have found a fitting solution for a customer”, “if my peers acknowledge my competence and include me in their team”. In terms of the flow of the day, there was a broad consensus on “being able to control the events and being able to follow one’s own pace” rather than being in a rat race. Recognition and indeed celebration of successes was an important issues, sometimes mentioned with a hint of regret that times have become worse and practices of consciously pausing 3

to properly celebrate a successful contract or quarter are mostly gone. The social crafting of relations with peers, clients, friends and family featured prominently in the description of the perfect day, but also themes like having a good night’s sleep or enjoying a good coffee or a nice meal. The narratives sound like different versions of Sisyphean tasks. According to Greek mythology Sisyphos was condemned to roll a boulder uphill and then watch it roll back down again and again. Some of our participants described the quarterly targets like the boulder, which rolls back after a quarter has been finished. Others seem to focus more on the achievement on rolling the boulder uphill as if they were smiling while pushing the boulder or relishing the moment of achievement when they have reached the top of the hill before going back again. Sensemaking Many of the feedback sessions are intense, private and confidential conversations, in which notes from the diaries and recollections are used to make sense of the bio-metric data. Typical pattern we have encountered are experienced and mature individuals who have succeeded to craft their work by setting boundaries to their work in terms of time but also in terms of meaning. Some told us “I have learned to say “no” to my boss or my client, if I have to and come back to them later and explain myself”, “It took me six and a half years to put things in perspective”, while others have – temporarily – skipped their physical exercise and spent less time with friends and family because of urgent requirements of work. Discussion and conclusion The description are in line with the looming risks of “interested self-endangering” (Krause et al., 2014). We found clear evidence of feeling autonomous and self-employed confronted with tough targets but without the requisite resources and expertise of how to craft work. There is a certain sense of loneliness, of not knowing when “enough is enough”, exacerbated by uncertain and ambiguous career perspectives and managers who often are struggling as well. Some receive, what they perceive as impersonal feedback from their managers: based on formal assessments, conveyed during a conference call, while the manager is commuting. Yet, we have found numerous individuals who have achieved wellbeing in their work life. This is clearly an ongoing and hard won achievement based on structuring their work (“I typical do my emails only after lunch”), in finding meaning in their work (“XTec is a great company”, “I am really happy when I found a good solution for my client”), in consciously celebrating successes and recognize achievements of colleagues. But also in drawing clear boundaries in terms of time but also meaning between work and life. The tentative results of our study confirm the ambivalent impacts of highly flexible work organizations: they are welcomed by employees, who at the same time are at risk to be overwhelmed by - and largely unprepared for - the responsibilities, uncertainties, pressures and relentless pace that come with this mode of organizing. We found this even in a 4

sample, which is biased towards high-performers, i.e. those who appear to be thriving in this environment. Yet, we also found individuals who have successfully crafted the structure of their work, their social relations and their own identity and thus have achieved a sense of coherence which affords them to successfully and sustainably engage with the demands, highlights and frustrations of their work. “I leave Sisyphus at the foot of the mountain! One always finds one’s burden again. But Sisyphus teaches the higher fidelity that negates the gods and raises rocks. He too concludes that all is well. This universe henceforth without a master seems to him neither sterile nor futile. Each atom of that stone, each mineral flake of that night-filled mountain, in itself forms a world. The struggle itself toward the heights is enough to fill a man’s heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy.” (Camus, 1955, p. 78)

Acknowledgement We would like to thank our sponsors in XTec who kindly included us in their program and showed great enthusiasm and support for our work. We would also like to thank the participants in our study who shared important parts of their lives with us. References Antonovsky, A. (1979). Health, stress, and coping. San Francisco [etc.] ; London: Jossey-Bass. Retrieved from http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/7249690?selectedversion=NBD1463125 Antonovsky, A. (1987). Unraveling the mystery of health: how people manage stress and stay well. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Antonovsky, A. (1993). The structure and properties of the sense of coherence scale. Social Science and Medicine, 36(6), 725–733. doi:10.1016/0277-9536(93)90033-Z Arnold, M. (2003). On the phenomenology of technology: the “Janus-faces” of mobile phones. Information and Organization, 13(4), 231–256. doi:10.1016/S1471-7727(03)00013-7 Berntson, G. G., Bigger, J. T. jr., Eckberg, D. L., Grossman, P., Kaufmann, P. G., Malik, M., … Van der Molen, M. W. (1997). Heart rate variability: Origins, methods and interpretive caveats (Committee Report ). Psychophysiology, 34, 623–648. Camus, A. (1955). The Myth of Sisyphus and other Essays. Hamish Hamilton. Retrieved from http://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&btnG=Search&q=intitle:The+myth+of+Sisyphus,+ and+other+essays#0 Cisco. (2012). Gen Y Flexible Workspace. Cisco Trends in IT. Retrieved from http://www.citywomen.co.uk/wpcontent/uploads/2014/04/Trends_in_IT_Gen_Y_Flexible_Collaborative_WorkspaceCisco.pdf Krause, A., Baeriswyl, S., Berset, M., Deci, N., Dettmers, J., Dorsemagen, C., … Straub, L. (2014). Selbstgefährdung als Indikator für Mängel bei der Gestaltung mobil-flexibler Arbeit: Zur Entwicklung eines Erhebungsinstruments. Wirtschaftspsychologie, (4), 49–59. Retrieved from http://www.psychologieaktuell.com/index.php?id=184&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=3833&tx_ttnews[backPid]=185&cHash =d51d629405#marker4 Latniak, E., & Gerlmaier, A. (2006). Zwischen Innovation und alltäglichem Kleinkrieg - Zur Belastungssituation von IT-Beschäftigten (No. 2006-04). Retrieved from http://www.iatge.de/iat-report/2006/report2006-04.pdf Lyytinen, K., & Yoo, Y. (2002). Research Commentary : The Next Wave of Nomadic Computing, 13(4), 377–388.

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Perlow, L. a., & Kelly, E. L. (2014). Toward a Model of Work Redesign for Better Work and Better Life. Work and Occupations, 41(1), 111–134. doi:10.1177/0730888413516473 Togo, F., & Takahashi, M. (2009). Heart rate variability in occupational health --a systematic review. Industrial Health, 47(6), 589–602. doi:10.2486/indhealth.47.589 Wrzesniewski, A., & Dutton, J. E. (2001). Crafting a Job: Revisioning Employees As Active Crafters of their Work. Academy of Management Review, 26(2), 179–201. doi:10.5465/AMR.2001.4378011 Wyner, G. M., & Malone, T. W. (1995). Cowboys or Commanders : Does Information Technology Lead To Decentralization ?, Proceedings ICIS 1996 63–79.

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