Interesting site. I’ve long thought that the workplace needs a complete rethink. I picked this link up through a great email from (forgive their name) Next Generation Consulting. The long and the short of it is a study that looked at Law firms and their success at overworking employees:

Her task force points a finger directly at the profession’s emphasis on ‘total commitment’ as a basis to enter the partner ranks as the key debilitating factor affecting the work environment, attraction and retention of talent and work-family balance within the industry. It found that the profession’s concept of total commitment translates to pushing all non-work obligations aside on a regular basis as a symbol of one’s commitment. The task force concluded that this predominant ethos triggers a series of ‘vicious circles’ in the industry – where solving one difficulty leads to another problem which in turn creates new difficulties.

Sounds so, well, Silicon Valley doesn’t it… (also sounds like most consulting firms…)… Anyway, given we’ve got all this magnificent technology at our disposal I’m convinced employers of choice in the future won’t be those with the best food or offices – but those that free employees to work wherever and however they will be most productive. And those that free employees from the tyranny of nonsensical performance reviews that force-fit performance and focus on vertical career advancement.