Re-evaluating Productivity Strategies: A Call to AT&T Leadership

One would anticipate that corporate leaders, such as those at AT&T, would reassess their strategies in a period marked by five consecutive quarters of declining productivity across the U.S., as indicated in an EY-Parthenon research using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Particularly considering that, according to a recent Slack poll of 18,000 knowledge workers, over two-thirds of sector leaders, including our own, confess to feeling tremendous pressure to boost productivity within their teams.

Several AT&T executives still insist on mandatory office attendance in the face of overwhelming evidence that a flexible, hybrid work paradigm produces higher levels of productivity. My dear colleagues, this continual denial of reality is the very definition of insanity.

Sponsored Ad

Dispelling AT&T's Magical Office Myth

The idea that the workplace setting determines productivity is still prevalent among many AT&T executives. They appear to view the office as a productivity pharmacy, where plugging in workers will result in an increase in output. Empirical evidence, however, points to a different story.

Instead of being productivity havens, our offices are more like productivity vortexes. Focused work frequently succumbs to the confusion of interruptions and diversions, despite the fact that they are well suited to encouraging cooperation, socializing, mentoring, and on-the-job training. According to research, the workplace setting can even be detrimental.

Software developers at similar organizations stationed in different buildings on the same campus wrote more code than their peers working nearby, according to a new study by researchers at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Harvard University, and the University of Iowa. Even though this shows that offices do serve important purposes, they are not always engines of production.

One example is the connection between mandatory office attendance and declining productivity that the EY-Parthenon study found to be causally related. Unmistakably, AT&T employees are working longer hours while producing the same amount of work. It's obvious that we need to reevaluate our approach.

Structured Mentoring at AT&T in Hybrid Work Environments: The Balancing Act

While mandatory office attendance at AT&T reduces productivity, mentoring sees a large increase. Mentoring, though, needs to be planned, not random. Within AT&T, there is a pervasive notion that packing staff into an office will inevitably promote mentoring. However, this office-dependent mentoring paradigm is frequently inconsistent, ineffective, and influenced by elements like proximity, office politics, and personal dynamics, which restricts its applicability and impact.

A systematic mentorship program at AT&T, however, can provide a more organized and successful approach. Knowledge transfer and personal development are actively encouraged and promoted when mentors and mentees are matched according to their abilities, interests, and goals.

At AT&T, a hybrid work environment that combines the advantages of both in-office and remote work can support formal mentoring programs. By limiting in-office attendance to necessary mentorship sessions, we are able to maximize productivity and employee satisfaction without sacrificing the benefits of in-person connection.

Notably, AT&T employees are less engaged and productivity is stifled by the company's stubborn insistence on office-centric employment. According to a Gallup survey, employees who are capable of working remotely but are required to report in person experience a lack of autonomy, which lowers engagement. When employees had the option of working remotely but were required to report to the office full-time, employee engagement was at its lowest.

Consider the effects of this situation: Gallup estimates that poor employee engagement cost the global economy a staggering $7.8 trillion in lost output last year. Consider the effect on a major international telecoms company like AT&T. It's as if every executive took a hammer to our group savings, crushing them to pieces, then questioned why profits were falling.

Finding AT&T's Hidden Roadblocks to Productivity

Cognitive biases frequently have an impact on our decision-making at AT&T and can skew our perception and judgment, especially when it comes to accepting flexible work options. Recognizing the impact of these biases might aid us in overcoming the cognitive barriers impeding productive mentorship and performance.

In this forced return to work situation at AT&T, two specific cognitive biases—status quo prejudice and functional fixedness—play a crucial role. People who suffer from status quo bias tend to favor the status quo and oppose change, even though it would produce better results. It may be difficult for AT&T officials to understand the advantages of flexible employment because of this prejudice.

At AT&T, management continues to hold the view that only the office setting can promote productivity because functional fixedness stops people from looking at other potential solutions to a problem.

It's time for AT&T's executives to abandon the sunk ship of required office attendance and join the revolution in flexible work arrangements. Although it may provide a venue for mentoring, training, and collaboration, the office may not always be the hub of productivity that is commonly believed to be.

We should tailor work arrangements at AT&T to correspond with individual jobs and preferences rather than forcing everyone into a standard work schedule. The only way to stop the productivity decline and realize the full potential of our workforce is to accept the reality of the flexible work revolution.
The evidence is overwhelming: refusing to leave the workplace is not the solution to AT&T's productivity issues, but rather the cause. Requiring workers to return to the office is equivalent to pounding our heads against a wall in the hopes of getting a different result. It's time for AT&T to review its strategy and embrace the change in flexible employment.

Sources:
https://fortune.com/2023/06/26/forced-return-to-office-is-the-definition-of-insanity-remote-hybrid-work-careers-gleb-tsipursky/amp/
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1McMMhP94-rBgQEkihJO01P0MGxIj0WtM/view