From the course: Leadership Stories: 5-Minute Lessons in Leading People

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Written rules versus unwritten norms

Written rules versus unwritten norms

From the course: Leadership Stories: 5-Minute Lessons in Leading People

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Written rules versus unwritten norms

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- Every company has two different sets of rules: the official rules written in the policy manual and the unspoken rules that everyone actually follows. A classic example is working hours. Company guidelines might say that quitting time is five o'clock, but if everyone else works till six and looks at you funny when you leave at five, you'll pretty quickly start working till six. Now, a more modern example involves flexible work arrangements or FWA. Now, those are the things like reduced working hours or working from home or job sharing. And anyone who's worked in a corporate setting knows there's a big difference between a company that has an FWA policy and one with a culture that actually allows employees to use those arrangements and feel good about it. Now, most companies today have an FWA policy, but at some of those companies, the unwritten rules, the underlying culture that actually guides employee behavior, keep people from taking advantage of those policies. Now, sometimes…

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