Out of Office: The Big Problem and Bigger Promise of Working from Home

💡 Out of Office was recommended to me by a co-worker. We both have been remote employees for years and have this kinda nailed down. One of my favorite highlights from the book is; “Remote work forces you to change the how. It is not a cure for shitty management or a bad business model or a bad product. It is merely an organizing principle.”

The book 'Out of Office' should be a must-read for all those narcissistic leaders who think their way is the ideal for everyone. As Olson points out, the problem is that these leaders are eager to return to the same way of doing things - a monoculture of location-bound, presentism-obsessed leadership - without questioning its effectiveness. Moreover, companies are often eager to transform but resistant to letting go of old hierarchies and pathways to power. 'Out of Office' provides a much-needed insight into how to foster a more diverse and equitable working environment, enabling those who have previously been excluded from accessing better opportunities. It's a book that all leaders should read to understand the importance of a more inclusive working culture.

“The problem, Olson says, is that a lot of the leaders at these companies are trying, as best they can, to “just ride this shit out.” They’re spectacularly eager to rubber band back to the way things were before: location-bound, obsessed with presentism, equating leadership material with “constant availability,” still thinking of DEI as something that can be solved with a committee. They’d never admit it, but they want to preserve the monoculture. Olson knows she can’t change the minds of these sixty-three-year-old white male CEOs. But she can make it very easy to connect their organizations with workers who would otherwise be shut out of them.”

“As Martin-Robinson points out, companies are often eager to transform but incredibly resistant to thinking of that transformation as letting go—of old hierarchies, old pathways to power, old understandings of what productivity should look like.”

Here is the LINK to the AMAZON Book