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Mr Citrin and Ms Derosa also warn of the dangers of virtual meetings. Just because it is possible to schedule one does not mean it is necessary or wise to do so. Poorly run meetings do not just waste time, they jeopardise the ability to meet deadlines, adding to workers’ stress. Long meetings should have breaks, which the manager should take responsibility for enforcing. And any meeting should be 20 or 50 minutes long, rather than 30 minutes or an hour, to allow for a gap between sessions in an hourly schedule.
西特林和德罗萨还警告了虚拟会议的危险性。仅仅因为时间上可以安排，并不意味着这样做是必要的或明智的。会议开得不好不仅浪费时间，还会影响员工按时完成任务的能力，增加员工的压力。长时间的会议应该有休息时间，管理者应该负责执行。任何会议的长度都应该是20或50分钟，而不是30分钟或一个小时，以便在以小时为单位的会议安排间留出间隙。
At times, the authors’ advice becomes a little generic. Virtual meetings should have one of four objectives, they argue: to solve problems, make decisions, to gain support or build relationships. Sadly, in Bartleby’s experience, an inventive manager could describe almost all meetings as conforming to at least one of these criteria. Later in the book, they describe the most important characteristics for virtual leaders as including “strong communications and interpersonal skills, initiative, flexibility and the ability to learn and adapt”. Surely these are useful attributes for all leaders, whether operating remotely or not?
有时，作者的建议比较笼统。他们认为，虚拟会议应该有以下四个目标之一：解决问题、做出决定、获得支持或建立关系。遗憾的是，根据巴特比的经验，一个有创造力的经理可以将几乎所有的会议描述为至少符合其中一个标准。在这本书的后面，他们描述了虚拟领导者最重要的特征，包括“强大的沟通和人际关系技巧、主动性、灵活性以及学习和适应的能力”。当然，这些特质对所有领导者来说都是有用的，无论是否远程操作对吧?
And some of the suggestions seem distinctly offbeat. As part of team-building, the authors propose that colleagues display pictures on their bookshelves or give a tour of the kitchen and tell the stories behind the items within it. Much as Bartleby would love to hear about Bagehot’s egg whisk or Schumpeter’s salad spinner, he hopes this idea does not catch on at The Economist. The same goes for the suggestion that virtual festive parties would be enlivened by having staff dress up, with a vote on the best outfit, or for colleagues to submit videos of their children or pets. Pet videos should be confined to YouTube.
其中一些建议似乎非常不寻常。作为团队建设的一部分，作者建议同事们在书架上展示照片，或者带大家参观一下厨房，讲述里面物品背后的故事。尽管巴托比很想听听关于白芝浩的鸡蛋打蛋器或熊彼特的沙拉旋转器的事，但他希望这个想法不会在《经济学人》流行起来。同样，有人建议，通过让员工盛装打扮、投票选出最佳着装，或让同事提交自己孩子或宠物的视频，使虚拟节日派对变得活跃起来。宠物视频应该上传到油管上。
A few things must change when people work remotely. But not everything does. Managers will need to make a more determined effort to keep in contact with their staff but those who are good at listening, and who can empathise with how their team members are coping, should still be able to flourish. If, as most people expect, a hybrid model emerges with remote working a couple of days a week, there will be plenty of scope for interaction when managers and team members are both present. What office life doesn’t need is gimmicks. Work colleagues do not need to be treated like game-show contestants.
当人们远程办公时，有些事情必须改变。但并不是所有事情都是如此。管理者需要更加坚定地努力与员工保持联系，但那些善于倾听、能够同步理解团队成员所做的事情的人，仍然能够茁壮成长。如果像大多数人所期望的那样，出现一种一周远程工作几天的混合模式，那么当管理者和团队成员都在场时，将会有大量的互动空间。办公室生活不需要花招。工作伙伴不需要被当作游戏节目的参赛者对待。
译文由可可原创，仅供学习交流使用，未经许可请勿转载。
