The Slippery Slope That Wasn’t
Remote work didn’t ruin productivity. It exposed the limits of old assumptions.
While the COVID pandemic was certainly tragic, the global shift to remote work revealed that the slope many leaders feared was never as slippery as they thought.
Before 2020, working from home was rare in many white-collar industries. The prevailing attitude was: If we let employees work remotely, they’ll disengage, and company culture will deteriorate. But did that really happen? For some, company culture changed. But in many cases, it evolved. It certainly didn’t collapse.
Alongside remote work came more flexibility in working hours. Pre-pandemic thinking sounded like this: If we allow flexible hours, no one will show up on time, and productivity will fall apart. Instead, people took their kids to school, walked the dog in the sunshine, and made time for doctor’s appointments…then returned to work with better focus and a healthier relationship with their job.
Before the pandemic, workers lacked the leverage to push for flexibility. Management didn’t have compelling proof that traditional structures were flawed, but they held the power, so their assumptions ruled. That all changed in an instant.
It turned out the slippery slope wasn’t slippery. And it wasn’t even a slope.
Very few people had previously paused to dissect these assumptions. There were studies and trials showing flexibility could work, but management often dismissed them. COVID was an uncontrolled experiment, but it proved what the data had been suggesting for years.
We’ve seen this before:
At Best Buy, a results-only work environment led to greater productivity and satisfaction.
Microsoft Japan ran a five-week trial of a four-day workweek—and saw a 40% productivity boost and a 23% reduction in electricity use.
Perpetual Guardian, a New Zealand trust company, made its four-day workweek permanent after a successful trial showed a 20% productivity increase.
Netflix introduced unlimited vacation policies, trusting employees to manage their own time. The result? Increased autonomy, engagement, and retention—without a dip in productivity.
Despite all the talk of innovation and agility, most organisations cling tightly to the status quo, especially when it comes to how work gets done.
That’s where subversive managers thrive.
They challenge assumptions. They run small experiments. They measure what matters. And they use the results to make work better, not just for their teams, but for their organisations, too.
The slippery slope? It’s often just an excuse not to try.