ARMY AL&T
ELECTRIFYING RESEARCH
The Hon. Kathleen H. Hicks, Ph.D., center left, the deputy secretary of defense, talked to staff at the Ground Vehicle Systems Center (GVSC) at Detroit Arsenal about how electrification research- and-development efforts can improve vehicles’ mission duration and advanced warfighting capabilities. (Photo by GVSC)
move forward as an organization from the mission output point of view as well.”
But there are challenges, too. Simply put, there are some jobs that just can’t be done from home, and managers will need some new skills to effectively lead remote and hybrid teams. “We’ve had some people who have continued to come in every day since the pandemic,” Willison said. “Tere are some things that can only safely and effectively be done in a very controlled, secure lab. So, you can’t tell the person working on anthrax defense to do that at home in their kitchen.”
Some research has indicated that workers who spend more time in the office may receive more promotions, pay increases and favorable reviews than their peers
who work from home more frequently. In addition, women and people of color may be more likely to prefer telework and remote work, which begs the question— how can managers ensure those workers are not negatively impacted by so-called proximity bias? “Management of hybrid work is definitely a challenge,” Willison said. “Part of what we’ve emphasized is … the expectation is that you’re manag- ing output. You’re not managing physical presence. You’re not managing time put in. Tis should have been true even before COVID, right?” Tough he concedes that that can be difficult in certain fields. “For us, doing research, doing engineering, we have ways to do that that are not always as tangible as we’d like them to be. It still is a level of effort, but it’s put even a
"This construct of ‘work where and when you’re most productive’ sounds pretty simple, it makes a lot of sense, but there’s a lot of complexity."
greater emphasis on the notion of manag- ing output.”
Willison said that DEVCOM leaders have taken a hard look at the roles and expecta- tions of managers and leaders in particular, and how to ensure that favoritism and bias don’t creep in to the evaluation process. (Read more about how leaders can adapt to managing hybrid teams in “Future of Work—Present Tense,” from the Winter 2022 issue at
https://go.usa.gov/xtF7P.)
Despite the difficulties, Willison said this is something that simply must be done if DEVCOM is to effectively recruit and retain the right workers for its mission. “One of the motivators for us to provide this kind of flexibility to the workforce is because we are constantly in a war for talent. If we don’t provide those flexibil- ities, we know someone else is going to.”
CONCLUSION Tough the experiment is ongoing, Willi- son is already making predictions about the final outcomes. “Even though we’re calling it a pilot, there’s no way you can put this back in the box,” he said. “You
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