Workstyle As A Modern Way Of Working
Workstyle Revolution CIC exists to create a happier, more fulfilled society through a world of work without bias. We believe this requires more than policy change or standalone inclusion initiatives. It requires a fundamental shift in how work is designed, managed and measured.
The way most organisations still operate is rooted in industrial-age assumptions: fixed hours, standardised roles, physical presence and managerial oversight as a proxy for productivity. These assumptions are increasingly misaligned with how work actually happens today particularly in knowledge-based, digital and hybrid environments.
Workstyle is a practical, integrated way of working that replaces these outdated assumptions with a model grounded in trust, autonomy and clear performance expectations. It focuses on outputs rather than hours, capability rather than conformity, and responsibility rather than control.
Workstyle does not remove accountability; it sharpens it. It does not reduce performance expectations; it clarifies them. It provides a structured way for individuals, managers and teams to agree how work gets done in a way that supports contribution, sustainability and results.
When work is designed this way, people are better able to perform, adapt and stay well and organisations are better able to retain talent, manage complexity and deliver consistently.
WHY THIS MATTERS NOW
Work is changing faster than organisational systems are keeping up.
AI is reshaping roles and workflows. Hybrid and remote working have disrupted traditional markers of productivity and visibility. Job insecurity, constant change and blurred boundaries are placing sustained pressure on individuals and managers alike. Many people are exhausted not because they lack resilience, but because the structure of work itself is creating unnecessary friction.
Managers are being asked to lead in environments defined by uncertainty, distributed teams and rapid change often without practical frameworks for trust-based performance or autonomy-led working. At the same time, organisations are facing persistent challenges around retention, engagement, skills shortages and wellbeing.
In this context, simply offering flexibility, hybrid policies or wellbeing support is not enough. These solutions often sit on top of unchanged expectations about availability, responsiveness and “being seen” at work.
What is needed now is a practical way of working that fits modern realities:
• Work scoped and delivered by output
• Autonomy balanced with dependability
• Performance visible without constant monitoring
• Sustainable contribution over time
Workstyle Pioneers exists to help organisations make this shift in practice, not as a theoretical exercise, but as a lived, test-and-learn way of working embedded into everyday roles and teams.
INCLUSION AS A SYSTEM OUTCOME
Groups such as disabled people, carers, people with long-term health conditions, neurodivergent people, parents and older workers are currently overrepresented among those excluded from work or forced to compromise their health, wellbeing or progression to stay in it.
These outcomes are often framed as individual challenges requiring adjustment or accommodation. In reality, they are the predictable result of work systems built around narrow assumptions about time, energy, availability and “normal” ways of working.
Workstyle Pioneers takes a different approach. Rather than asking individuals to adapt to rigid structures, it supports organisations to redesign work so that difference can be integrated without lowering standards or fragmenting teams.
When work is organised around trust, autonomy and clearly defined outputs:
• People with complex lives are better able to contribute consistently
• Managers gain clearer insight into performance and progress
• Teams become more resilient, adaptable and inclusive by design
Importantly, the people who have historically been excluded from work are often the first to benefit from this shift, not because workstyle is designed for them specifically, but because it removes assumptions that never worked for many people in the first place.
In this sense, inclusion becomes a signal that work is functioning well. When work works for those previously excluded, it works better for everyone.
WORKSTYLE AS A PRACTICAL RESPONSE TO MODERN WORK
Workstyle Pioneers is grounded in day-to-day practice. It helps organisations move from abstract ideas about trust and flexibility to concrete changes in how work happens, including:
• Clarifying what good performance looks like in output-led roles
• Agreeing individual and team workstyles to reduce friction and fatigue
• Supporting managers to lead with trust, not constant oversight
• Creating shared expectations around availability, communication and delivery
• Enabling autonomy without loss of accountability
This practical focus ensures that workstyle is not an initiative running alongside work, but a way of doing work differently, one that supports modern working realities while strengthening inclusion, wellbeing and performance together.
Contact Lizzie Penny, Co-Founder and Joint CEO of Workstyle Revolution CIC, on Lizzie@Workstyle.org.uk for more information about the Workstyle Pioneers programme.
