Jobs have long been structured primarily around units of time—a 40-hour workweek, an eight-hour day. The time you spend—or are supposed to spend—determines whether you are working full or part time, with implications for compensation and other benefits. Face time can serve as a proxy for commitment and ambition. But that comes as a bit of a surprise to many of today’s newest employees. Generation Y workers (born since 1980) clearly prefer jobs defined by task, not time. They want to be compensated for what they produce.

That’s not a new concept. Workers in agricultural and craft-based economies were rewarded for output—bushels of wheat, the number of cups or bowls. Even in the early days of the Industrial Revolution, workers were paid by the piece. With the advent of the industrial economy, however, piecemeal pay preserved too many irregularities in an increasingly scientific and mechanized approach to management. Production shifted from the discrete output of individual workers to a complex, integrated process in which it was difficult to isolate tasks. Logging time made more sense. Post-Depression regulations and the rise of unionization soon led to standardized hours.

The economy has shifted again, though, and the drumbeat for another change is intensifying, sounded largely by Generation Y—a vital resource for talent-hungry corporations. Many younger employees find they can complete tasks faster than older workers, perhaps partly because of technological proficiency but even more, in my view, because they work differently. They spend less time scheduling and are comfortable coordinating electronically. They resent being asked to log hours and stay in the office after their tasks are done, and the idea of face time really annoys them. Ys love to work asynchronously—anytime, anywhere. One said during our research, “What is it with you people and 8:30 am?”

Practical realities are also moving us toward a task-based definition of jobs. Who can say how long it takes to write a piece of software? Many salaried knowledge workers are already effectively paid for tasks rather than time. Allowing telecommuting and flexible hours is essentially trusting that the task will be accomplished, even when people working from home are expected to put in a specified number of hours. And institutionalizing task-based job definitions is arguably fairer than arbitrarily approving flex work and telecommuting—an approach as ripe for favoritism as the piecemeal systems of the preindustrial age. As virtual work continues to spread (already 40 percent of IBM employees have no official offices, for instance), it’s time to match the stated expectation to the operational reality.

What would that look like? At Best Buy’s headquarters, more than 60 percent of the 4,000 employees are now judged only on tasks or results. Salaried people put in as much time as it takes to do their work. Hourly employees in the program work a set number of hours to comply with federal labor regulations, but they get to choose when. Those employees report better relationships with family and friends, more company loyalty and more focus and energy. Productivity has increased by 35 percent and voluntary turnover is 320 basis points lower than in teams that have not made the change. Employees say they don’t know whether they work fewer hours—they’ve stopped counting. Perhaps more important, they’re finding new ways to become efficient: “Do we really need this meeting?”

Going forward, we can devise a better model of how to define work. Think task, not time: Articulate the results you expect—and tie accountability to getting the job done. Make physical attendance in the office, including at meetings, optional. Gauge performance on the quality of the work performed. Help managers and employees learn to measure dedication in ways other than face time. Use today’s networking capabilities to allow employees to work from anywhere. Support the changes by creating drop-in centers, team spaces and open work areas. Shift your definition of work from a place your employees go for a specified period to something they do—anytime, anywhere. Task, not time—a model that dominated employment until a century ago—is a powerful way to draw in the newest crop of workers.

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Tamara J. Erickson is the president of the Concours Institute, the research and education arm of BSG Alliance. She is based in Boston.

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