Work from Anywhere...


Like most people, at the start of the Covid-19 lockdown, I feasted upon news stories and was gannet like in my search for new angles, reasons to be positive and ideas of how to be and stay upbeat during this weird time.  Maybe naively I didn't expect the virus to last this long but clearly some people knew better than me and before long I was reading extensively about the new normal and what a post Covid world might look like - from a work perspective.  After a while, I gave up on the gannet behaviour and decided to read nothing at all.  I was frustrated and stressed out by the sheer speculation of individuals who as far as I could see didn't really have any fact based knowledge and were just wanting something to write about.  I've maintained my media distancing and I'm a lot happier for it! 

However, as we're now starting to see some recovery in the recruitment sector and several new briefs have come in, I'm starting to see for myself what employers think the new normal might look like.  I did a bit of Googling this morning and can see that there are articles abound still on this subject so I shut that down and decided to rely on my own anecdotal evidence for this blog.

The world of advertising and marketing agencies feels divided at the moment.  Several agencies have re-opened their doors and given employees the option to work there if they would like to.  Given the rules on social distancing and the huge efforts employers have to make to ensure safety in the workplace, I think an equal and opposite number of agencies have decided to keep working from home for the foreseeable.    There have been a huge number of articles written about how Covid will mean the death of the office but I'm not convinced that is true.  A couple of my clients have launched 'work from anywhere' going forwards and I think they might be onto something.

Not all remote working is created equal. 

I've seen first hand how various individuals have adapted to working from home.   Of course, we've all had to do it because of extenuating circumstances but whilst some people have loved it (usually have families, a big house, decent wifi), there are many who have found it tortuously difficult (those who are working at the kitchen table, those who live on their own, the younger employees who thrive in a team, wonky internet).  Having to work from home is a very different concept to having the option to work from home or remotely.

I love the Work from Anywhere philosophy.   To me, it gives employees freedom and choice to work  where they are most productive and rather than being imprisoned in their homes, it empowers them to choose flexibility and to untether themselves from schedules and routines that can often cause stress.  I can relate to this hugely, I love going into Manchester on one day a week for candidate meet-ups (well, I used to...) but I couldn't do it daily, just dealing with Northern Rail one day a week is enough for me.

Work from anywhere...might also include the office.  Sometimes.  And this is interestingly what I think most employees will choose.  Flexibility and the ability to choose where to work.     Having an office promotes a vibrant company culture, fosters collaborations, inspires creativity and innovation - all of which are essential in our world of creative services, advertising and marketing. Ultimately it's what helps businesses to stay competitive. 

From a recruitment perspective, work from anywhere is also great.   I think we'll see much more geographical spread of employees.  It will open up opportunities to individuals who live in other regions of the UK and give more candidate choice to employers.    Having said that, I'm already seeing a bit of an exodus of candidates from London.  I've had a lot of enquiries from candidates who are making the move to Manchester, Leeds and Liverpool.  It seems that Covid has perhaps taken the shine off working in our capital and we might see a lot of new talent enter our candidate pool - this is great for the regions.

So we'll see.  Who knows?  Plenty of agencies are committed to getting to September and reviewing what they do then.  It's likely that there will be a bit of 'suck it and see' and to adapt as they go along.  Everyone is different, no one size will fit all but greater choice and flexibility in how we work has got to be good in the long term for all of us.