New Ways of Working: From Smart to Shared Power

Abstract

This chapter questions the relevance of the concept of smart power in organization studies and, specifically, in the study of new ways of working (NWOW) implementation. NWOW embrace a broad set of organizational practices, ranging from spatial and temporal flexibility to selfmanagement. Beyond such set of (somehow traditional) work practices, the singularity of NWOW seems to lie in its governance epitome, valuing a peculiar philosophy of management, i.e. a more democratic way of managing organizations. The Smart power approach could play a key role in the effective implementation of NWOW. However, drawing on existing studies, we report some paradoxes making NWOW a piece of what may be seen as old-fashioned management practices and organizational pattern that, far from constituting a promise for alternative modes of governance, also constitute new attempts to disciplinarize employees. Claiming organizational rules need to be appropriated by actors in order to become effective, this chapter argues a smart power perspective is not relevant at the micro-level, where traditional approaches of power and agency are more complete. While considering innovative NWOW, smart power approach seems well relevant to analyze meso regulations and, especially, governance issues.

When the Gallic Village Strikes Back: The Politics Behind ‘New Ways of Working’ Projects

“…The managerial philosophy underlying NWoW usually emphasizes empowerment, autonomy, and democracy at work as important "values" or "dimensions" of NWoW (Bijl, 2011;De Leede, 2017;Taskin et al, 2017). Consultancy books and reports about NWoW hold that "employees demand greater freedom (…), less control, less command, fewer rules, less rigidity" (Bijl, 2011, p. 27) and recommend to "endow greater responsibility to autonomous teams" (Metz & Noizet, 2017, p. 2).…”

The Impact of New Ways of Working on Organizations and Employees: A Systematic Review of Literature

“…During the past 30 years, a wave of technological, economical, societal, demographic, and environmental changes has occurred, which has pushed public and private organizations to find solutions to remain innovative, responsive, flexible, and more efficient and effective (Palvalin 2017;Taskin et al 2017;Van Steenbergen et al 2017). With various concepts emerging in the international literature on the new world of work (Kelliher and Richardson 2012;Wessels et al 2019), this article aims to shed light on new ways of working (in this article, we use NWW and NWoW interchangeably for "new ways of working"), a human resources (HR) approach introduced into many organizations worldwide and facilitated by mobile devices and internet facilities (Blok et al 2011;de Leede and Nijland 2017;Bijl and Gray 2011).…”

“…Finally, the green imperative has also played a role in NWW implementation because NWW potentially diminish the amount of carbon monoxide produced via commuter reduction, which has been clearly demonstrated during the COVID-19 crisis. For instance, air quality as measured by carbon monoxide has notably improved during the COVID-19 crisis (please see the referenced research for more details) (Ruostela et al 2015;Taskin et al 2017).…”

The Impact of New Ways of Working on Organizations and Employees: A Systematic Review of Literature

“…NWW is seen as a viable answer to incompatibilities between people's professional and personal lives stemming from major societal issues and have been boosted by current COVID-19 pandemic issues. The shift toward an increasingly globalized economy has forced organizations to be innovative, responsive, flexible, and more efficient and effective (Palvalin, 2017;Taskin, Ajzen, & Donis, 2017;Van Steenbergen et al, 2017). NWW can also positively address professional life challenges like women's labor market access, work-life balance and work well-being, and young workers' (millennials) new expectations (Brandl et al, 2019;van Meel, 2011).…”

“…Finally, the green imperative has also played a role in NWW implementation because NWW potentially diminish the amount of carbon monoxide produced via commuter 1 In this article, we use NWW and NWoW interchangeably for "new ways of working." reduction, which has been clearly demonstrated during the COVID-19 crisis (Ruostela et al, 2015;Taskin et al, 2017). 2 Because of NWW's rapid increase in organizations, its relevance and real outcomes on organizations and employees are important to determine.…”