If Covid leads to a long-term remote working culture we have much to lament

Could the Covid-19 pandemic, the consequences of which are likely to be felt for years to come, produce real long-term changes in the way we work, promoting remote alternatives, increased online interactivity, the decline of face-to-face contact, and new socially-distanced forms of recreation - even in restaurants and bars - that leave us feeling a deeper longing for office politics, the gossip and the overflowing in-tray, the unexpected anecdotes and hilarities, not to mention the after-hours activities of nights spent queueing for gin in packed bars blaring questionable music, sweaty gigs in neon-lit arenas, the joyous thrill of crowds chanting at packed sports events, restaurants packed cosily with diners whose conversation could be heard nearby over candlelight?

Has the world as we thought we knew it changed forever because of this wretched virus? Has social discourse been irrevocably changed? Is the office now too risky, too possibly infectious, too expensive, defunct?

New reserch conducted by PwC has found that three quarters of employees in Northern Ireland say they are more productive at home, presumably with less mood-boosting but distracting office chatter to keep them from the task at hand: and compared to other regions of the UK Northern Ireland has the highest number of workers who stated they’d like to work remotely more than they did before the advent of the Covid-19 crisis.

According to the PwC research, 47 per cent of those surveyed in Northern Ireland would like to continue working from home more post-pandemic. The average across the UK was 39 per cent, - proving, thankfully, that the majority of us are actually missing office life, not least because we get to escape from all the difficulties of shared domesticity and all the stresses and strains that may come with over-exposure to our nearest and dearest.

The office is the very anchor of our working day and the people we work with towards a shared goal are far more important to us than we perhaps hitherto realised.

Responding to the results, Lynne Rainey, PwC partner, said: “We as a business have had to adapt to a very different way of working, as have our clients, and we were genuinely interested in how it was impacting on people in general.

“I think increased productivity at home has sparked some debate because it really depends on people’s circustances. If for example you don’t have access to childcare and are having to home school your children and meet deadlines then that it not going to be ideal.

“But for some people who are less likely to be interrupted and can use virtual channels for contact when they need it, certainly their productivity has increased.”

But the thing is we are humans, social animals therefore, who thrive and are arguably better placed in office environments.

Lynne contines: “These statistics are a snapshot of a window in time but I would really feel that ultimtely people do enjoy being part of an office environment where they can form important social connections and have important business interaction that is difficult to completely replicate virtually, and I think if the lockdown is sustained we will likely see higher numbers wishing to return to their normal places of work.”

Lynne adds: “Video technology is quite tiring in a way interface is not because it is natural.

”We are having to do a lot of forward planning for re-opening our office in order to comply with social distancing measures and we know it will have to be a phased return, that we won’t be able to have everyone back there from day one.

“We think we will have to have a rota of people coming in and out on different days in order to keep them safe and in order to abide by the advice we are getting from government as well.

“But I think it is so important for office employees to feel engaged and to feel part of something bigger then themselves. It requires efffort while working remotely to attempt to maintain that sense of community. Promoting that sense of teamwork and belonging is perhaps more important than ever before.”

Lynne, like many of us across the province hunched over kitchen tables trying to be productive in our pyjamas while mainlining caffeine feeling as though civilization as we once knew it has apocalyptically gone up in smoke, is, like a growing number of us, looking forward to returning to her office desk and chair.

“I’m a people person and I get energy from being around other people. I love being in an office, bouncing my ideas off other people; that’s where a lot of my creativity comes from. I think that’s where the good stuff happens.”

Craig Burlow, CEO of Corporate Away Days, is committed to advising businessnesses on how they can help cultivate a sense of office camaraderie while working apart during the pandemic.

“There is no question but that it is difficult. But that is why virtual platforms are key. Zoom, Skype, Google Hangout, Facetime - all of it is so important in aiding interaction.

“As we come out of lockdown there will certainly be changes to what we would understand as a normal working week. We may have fewer people in the office because of social distancing, we might have several days working at home followed by several working remotely. We will save costs on travel and have the opportunity to enjoy more time with family.

“People may be more productive at home but I would not say it is good for morale.

“People need the rountine of the working day, the structure, the human contact; it’s good for employees and it’s good for our mental health. But will the future possibly involve a blend of remote and on site working? Very possibly.

“Remember that we don’t just go to the office to get work done - we also go to have fun. And that shouldn’t be underestimated.

“We will get to the end of this, however far away it now seems.“

So office workers of the world unite, surely this is not the death knell for real-time public interface, board meetings with tea and biscuits, running jokes over shop-bought sarnies about who banjaxed the printer or myriad tales about what Jayne from reception got up to on holiday.

The Covid legacy may mean the frequency of office-based working is reduced, but it would be nothing short of a tragedy if we no longer had access to the daily camaraderie our workplaces enshrine, keeping us buoyant when we are struggling, benefiting from shared debate and able to to be better, more communally minded, employees.