This chapter stresses the importance of expectations and their role in performance and accountability. In a hybrid work environment, unclear expectations can lead to adverse performance and difficulties with accountability. The chapter encourages the use of dialogue to establish expectations and strategies to that end. Overall, expectations are a process and are dynamic. They need to be revisited often. Shared expectations are a strong foundation that contributes to the clarity of tasks and can enhance performance. They outline accountability, and the practice of developing can make the evaluation of performance easier. As more employees ask for flexible work and more employers are trying to meet these needs, expectations are crucial in establishing environments that maximize performance and accountability.
“I am just getting back into the fold of things, and I am immediately overwhelmed. I am being asked to do more with far less. Our full-time professional staff was reduced with the expectation of filling those gaps with part-time employees. I can barely staff my area to do our basic suite of programs, let alone any new ones. It is beyond frustrating. Not only am I dealing with this, but I also have multiple people in my life with significant COVID-related issues. I have long haul COVID effects that I am struggling with and trying to make sure that my son is safe too. Being able to do more of a hybrid approach would ease many of these burdens but that is not an option for me. I am looking for other opportunities as I feel there are too many limitations restricting me and making it far more difficult than necessary.”
This is paraphrasing a recent conversation that I had with a colleague, Ryan, and is likely similar to what many are experiencing. This person returned to an in-person environment and was met with numerous challenges further compounded by issues many of which are out of this individual’s control. More frustrating is that this person really felt helpless and was not sure of what to do based on the circumstances. We chatted for a bit more and it became clearer that the colleague was concerned with performing at the same level pre-pandemic and being held accountable if things did not work out, even when some of the issues were out of the individual’s control. Moreover, the colleague was looking for flexibility. Ideally, a transition to a hybrid work environment might have been conducive to his situation and could have eased some of the burden. Through an extensive literature review, Baker (2021) found remote work provided numerous prospective advantages including increased retention, productivity, and work satisfaction.
Reflecting on this conversation, it dawned on me that there was a misalignment of expectations that needed resolution. This dissonance was creating unease around performance standards and concerns for accountability. To explore what this might mean in the current and post-pandemic environment, it is important to consider the current literature and emerging research on expectations, performance, and accountability in hybrid work environments. Mahfoodh et al. (2021) ask a most prescient question in light of the shift to hybrid workspaces, “How might we implement a trust culture based on employees’ accountability and credibility performance of tasks?”
TopLeadership
Before diving deeper into these concepts, a brief aside about leadership in hybrid workspaces. Baker et al (2007) suggested a management culture of support and trust is essential for effective and successful work from home (WFH) arrangements. Neufeld and Fang (2005) determined crucial to WFH productivity was managerial attitudes and beliefs about WFH and in turn how these attitudes and beliefs were influenced by social interactions with colleagues, managers, and family members. van Dyne et al (2007) found managers want to monitor employees which is easier to achieve when employees report to an office, therefore, support for WFH can be negated by managers who are negative about team workers working remotely. Additional research (Baker et al., 2007; Peters & den Dulk, 2003) found national cultures can affect the acceptance of WFH and a manager’s willingness to delegate trust and power. Furthermore, van der Lippe and Lippenyi (2019) found managers rate team productivity higher when co-workers WFH no more than one day per week, yet rated overall team performance as inferior.