Failure of Imagination
Posted Apr 12, 2022 in Publisher's Page
“The only thing holding back flexible work arrangements was a failure of imagination. That failure was remedied in three weeks’ time in March 2020,” said Joan Williams, Director of the Center for WorkLife Law at the University of California, in Who Is the Office For?, an article in The New York Times, March 11, 2022.
It’s amazing how those three weeks turned thinking around and so many companies revamped and implemented remote work strategies. While many labs had already been thinking outside the box about flexible work arrangements as a way of creating a more family-friendly and appealing workplace culture, the pandemic took that thinking to a new level.
But Williams’ comment struck another chord for me: how often do we approach work (or most things for that matter) by doing the same things the same way out of habit or perhaps because we resist change?
Years ago, our IT specialist told us he wanted to create a shared drive...
