New Work did not ban performance

They can’t take it anymore, they want to work as little as possible, they constantly need praise, they don’t want to tear anything anymore. This is how I can summarize the attitude of people who criticize contributions to New Work. That means: The debate about New Work has a problem. An image is conveyed that does not do justice to the people.

Performance is neither forbidden nor out of fashion. New Work is not a fancy label for laziness. New Work is a changed organizational culture that brings performance and life into harmony.

If we look at why people change their job, then a lack of performance incentives is right at the top. Likewise: lack of creative freedom and rigid structures. People don’t quit because the work is too hard. People quit because conditions don’t allow them to tear anything.

The aim of New Work strategies is to keep performance high. This is no longer possible in traditional structures. The conditions in our society have changed: men take care of children, women work, care is becoming an issue, people feel like shopping for their neighbors again. And health plays a role: Nobody wants to die from work and we now know that this actually happens.

Either the working conditions adapt to social requirements, or people work elsewhere. Yes, that’s a little: take it or leave it. Change or die. And yes, it’s that drastic. Managers have to endure this, allow it and bring in impulses that bring the needs of the team together with the requirements of the organization. Gone are the days when performance was “nevertheless” achieved. Because the narrative that gainful employment is above everything has lost its credibility.

If we look at the debates on social networks, we see two extremes: those who want and show ways (their posts start with a provocative sentence, but are then resolved in a very mainstream way and get a lot of likes). And there are those who oppose the threat (we find them in the comment threads and they always have the phrase “30 years of working life” in them, and often the term “naive”). Extremes are useful for pointing out positions. But they won’t get us anywhere.

The work has to be done in teams. Anyone who writes positions on the Internet can start a revolution demand. But who they advance wants, he has to do something. Thinking about performance is a good idea. But “performance-oriented” works differently today than it used to. Anyone who is performance-oriented still wants to achieve something. But the concept is becoming more sustainable: the wear and tear of body, psyche, family and social life is no longer accepted as collateral damage.

The misunderstanding of New Work and laziness also results from exaggerated interpretations. Someone has to leave at 3:30 every day? He or she is not lazy. Life circumstances are behind it. Assume the best: The person certainly has an explanation – but doesn’t have to justify themselves. Anyone who gives such people the freedom to work well creates loyal employees who are really up for it. Win-win-win-win-win…

The same applies to recognition, appreciation, development opportunities. People want to feel that things are going well. They crave success. Anyone who actually makes them noticeable creates a working atmosphere that is fun. Success motivates. And one: “Awesome performance” is a success because it’s never the only thing that counts. Humans are not a resource, they are social beings. And recognition drives social beings to achieve. You can find that stupid or softened, you can’t change it.

Resistance to humane working conditions is therefore often somewhat unworldly. What people need has been well researched. It’s cheap to have. A lot of criticism of New Work requirements result from the fact that colleagues who tick a little differently are assumed to be the worst.

Imagine imputing the best to them. Imagine if they were on your team. They don’t work exactly like you, they want to change things. let her You can handle things differently. Then what counts is… well. The performance.

Of course people still want to create something, New Work doesn’t change that. It’s in our culture: people create things. The fire, the wheel, the portable TENS machine. We find something stupid and let’s think of a solution, homo inventi.

The culture of aspiration is so close to our nature that no departure is to be expected. We see no signs of the under-30s laying down and chilling into their twilight years. Change may feel like a major crisis. But it is nothing more than what it is: change. People want to do things differently. That is your right.