ABSTRACT
One of the biggest concerns for managers when moving to flexible ways of working is about managing people whom they no longer meet on a daily basis, or whom they can no longer monitor by line of sight at any given moment. There should be workflow management systems in place already, and the main issue for us is around being able to track the progress, completion and quality of work wherever it is carried out. Working in a trust-based culture where employees are liberated and empowered to make their own decisions to a greater extent than before means that the communication and people skills of the manager need to be sharper and well-adapted to the new situation. The way the world is changing, with more older workers, greater aspirations for work-life balance and for more choice and autonomy, more pervasive technology, more freelancers, and more connections in a globalised economy.
