By Lisa Hochgraf
A couple of years back, CUES staffers were so inundated by meetings that the leadership team proposed "no-meeting Wednesdays." The idea was embraced by the ranks and suddenly there was one day a week (Wednesday) when calendars were more clear and employees had more uninterrupted work time to focus on the "real work."
I hadn't really thought about what a boon this could be until I started reading Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain.
In the book, Cain reports her conversation with Jason Fried, co-founder of the web application company 37 signals. Around 2000, Fried asked hundreds of people (mostly designers, programmers and writers) where they liked to work when they needed to get something done. He found that they went anywhere but their offices, which were too noisy and full of interruptions.
In addition to cancelling meetings, Fried also suggests "No-Talk Thursdays," one day a week in which employees aren't allowed to talk with each other. Is this going too far?
What's your personal preference--status quo, no-meetings Wednesday or no-talk Thursday--and why? What would you expect the employee team at your credit union to prefer? How would a day without meetings or a day with less talking affect your work, the productivity of your credit union, and--most importantly--the member service your institution delivers?
Lisa Hochgraf is a CUES editor.
