Companies have traditionally measured work output by the amount of time people are physically present in the workplace. Employees would be in-office a set number of hours and if they worked more, companies would reward them with overtime pay. Sometimes, managers would provide additional rewards for above and beyond effort – for example working all night or into the weekend.

But in a world where you can work from anywhere and at any time, does that still make sense? Many employees and employers are coming to the conclusion that it does not. Instead, they try to reward the results you drive.

If you are working in this type of environment, the question is how do you maximize your ability to create an impact? In some cases, it’s working harder, but most times it’s about working smarter. Working smarter can involve many things, but as a minimum, it should include:

• Ensuring that you have the skills to do your work efficiently (including the five skills we help you embed in the BillionMinds program)
• Making sure you get enough rest and recuperation to show up for work effectively
• Making sure that you make excellent use of technology to help you work more efficiently, including AI tools.

In our own company, we are changing the conversation we have with our employees. We are now focusing less on how many hours they put in, and more on how they are working at getting more efficient, so they can bring more of their engaged human self to work every day.