Is New Work the New Agile?

In recent years, and increasingly as a result of digitization, we keep coming across the term New Work. Many companies are trying to integrate New Work into their working environment.

What's the first thing I think of when I read New Work? Of cool little start-ups with stylish offices and a coffee bar in the corner. But is New Work exactly that? No, of course not. It's much more about rethinking the current world of work. More often, we are looking for the meaning behind our activities and asking: Can't we do this better or more innovatively?

What can New Work achieve?

I often hear that the focus is very much on our own employees and that we want to give them more freedom. Free space? Where exactly? Freedom in the way they work, such as being able to decide for themselves to work from home today or to come into the office. To decide how they do their job or when. Our managers play a crucial role here, no longer as the "controllers" but as supporters and advisors.

What do companies hope to gain from this? I believe that New Work will give us the opportunity to develop more innovative solutions. Yes, I know that sounds a bit dreamy, too, and I'm not saying we'll always get there with it. I'm more concerned with the opportunity to create this through employee satisfaction. Employees feel valued and want to return that value to the company through their good work. The goal here is also to get my employees more involved in business ideas and processes so that there is a sense of "I belong" or "I want to improve MY company."

But everyone should also be aware that at the end of the day, it's all about numbers. I think a healthy degree of New Work implementation is good and I also see clear benefits for the company. Nevertheless, there have to be rules so that our processes, which have often worked well so far even without New Work, can continue to function in this way without being negatively impacted.

Are new work and agile approaches the same thing?

Aren't there also similarities to the agile world? I would say yes, there are. Working in a self-organized way, being given more responsibility, developing solutions together with people from different areas - we've heard that before.

That's why I often hear that New Work is a knock-off of Agile and another trend that many want to take advantage of. I don't see it that way! For me personally, there has to be a healthy mix of both and only if we are sure that such changes are possible and necessary in our company. Simply introducing something new for the sake of having something new can backfire. The same is true when implementing agile approaches. Not all companies have to and can work agilely. So we should make this decision very consciously and thoughtfully at the beginning.

How agile ideas and new work go together

Self-reflection and a well-structured plan are therefore the first and most important steps for me when it comes to gradually implementing these two options. Seeing what your own employees need, what their needs are, to be able to contribute their ideas and ways of working more. What is holding them back?

The resulting process optimization could then be driven forward with the help of agile development methods. Nevertheless, the whole thing in combination must be given a lot of time, because this restructuring means something new and at the same time challenging for every single employee. Through patience and step-by-step guidance, we can have more satisfied employees in the future who will repay us for this leap of faith in combination with agile product development with high-quality developed solutions.

I am aware that I have only very roughly touched on New Work and its characteristics. I would rather like to show that for me, in practice, it is not just about one or the other. I personally see the healthy mix of New Work and Agile as a sensible implementation option. Would you like to learn more? Then make a consultation appointment or give us a call.