On 23 March, when prime minister Boris Johnson responded to the threat of Covid-19 by imposing lockdown measures and restricting travel to essential journeys, British businesses braced themselves for the unknown. Office buildings emptied as UK households struggled to adapt to new demands. Two-bedroom flats became offices for as many as four adults, while family homes had to accommodate not only the work needs of adults, but a soundproofed environment for children – how else to manage all those Zoom calls?
“The biggest challenge for me has been having my children at home this whole time,” says Matt Caroll, founding partner and executive creative director at Mr. White, a premium production partner for brands, creating video content and other marketing assets. “The past five months I’ve been filled with guilt – either for not spending enough time with the kids, or for not working enough.”
Many businesses found themselves entering a go-slow period, as working possibilities were limited or clients hesitated to spend money on new projects. But Greg Gillies, director of Pond Group, an IT and telecoms managed services provider employing seven people, experienced quite the opposite. “We essentially went into business continuity/disaster recovery [BC/DR] mode,” he says. “Almost every customer was forced to follow at least some of their BC/DR plan – and that meant us getting involved to assist. Any thoughts of catching up on my email backlog were quickly scuppered.”
For Gillies, managing his staff during this period has been as much about checking on their personal wellbeing as monitoring that tasks are getting done. “It certainly pays to be a little more vigilant than usual, but that’s mostly to check people are doing OK in general and have what they need to work efficiently,” he says. “Everyone is different and some need a little more encouragement to remain enthusiastic.”
Roger Hollies, chief technology officer at Arenko Group, which develops software and hardware to control large-scale battery systems to support the UK’s electricity grid, agrees that supporting individuals takes many forms. “Some people thrive off clear and precise instructions on how to solve a problem; others you just give the problem to then get the hell out of the way!” he says. “I think the pandemic situation has amplified the need for managers to be sensitive to how to manage different personalities.”
Hollies points out that Arenko has always had a flexible approach to working, but that people flocked to its central London office in Chancery Lane regardless. “It was great fun, really vibrant and energetic. People miss it,” he says.
The company has done its best to recreate that atmosphere, despite the obvious limitations. “Our people team has encouraged online social activities, such as weekly quizzes and spot ‘fun fact’ sessions at lunchtimes,” says Hollies. “We also had weekly yoga sessions and one of the team even ran bi-weekly high-intensity interval training sessions.”
Caroll has a similar fondness for the office and its surroundings. “We’re in Shoreditch – like every other production outfit – and it’s a great part of London to be in,” he says. “But we want the team to feel reassured they’re not being herded back to their desks. So much has changed since March and it’s going to take a while for us all to build our confidence back up.”
Video conferencing has played a huge part in making remote working possible for so many, and there’s perhaps no starker prediction for what our working futures will look like than the predicted growth of Zoom, which now expects $1.8bn of revenue within its first full fiscal year of operation. But can it ever truly replace the casual ease of face-to-face conversations?
“Simple meetings can be a bit more hassle than usual – certainly more long-winded,” says Caroll. “You end up catching up on what you did last night before you actually get into the reason for the call. In the office, that sort of chat normally just happens throughout the day, so when you sit down for a meeting, it’s more streamlined. We use a WhatsApp group for questions, quick favours and to keep everyone updated.”
Pond Group has experienced similar limitations. “If we’re having a phone or video conference, people can’t take customer phone calls,” says Gillies, “so we’ve had to adapt to using things like group messaging instead, but it’s no substitute for face-to-face discussion.”
While some companies have used remote working as an opportunity to experiment with their wardrobes, Jon Lloyd, head of production at Infopro Digital, a business-to-business publisher, conference and events company employing approximately 300 people, likes to keep things as true to office life as possible. “I still wear my work stuff during the week. I feel that’s important. And I go out in the morning and at lunch for half-hour or 45-minute walks – about the same amount of exercise as I had with my commute and at lunchtime at work.”
Hollies, who used to cycle to the office, has had to find alternatives to bookend the day. “Yoga, meditation or a fitness class – or something as simple as a walk – to mark the transition from home to work and back again can help with managing the work-life boundaries critical to maintaining good mental wellbeing,” he says.
He points out that he made mistakes in this area early in lockdown: “The worst thing I did was set up my office in my living room. We were in the middle of some home improvements when lockdown kicked in, so I had little choice, but it made switching off from work extremely difficult.”
However restrictions may be lifted or reimplemented over the coming months, there’s a reluctance to revert to office life as we knew it, tempered by a broad enthusiasm for the future. “My new daily routine is mostly preparing project plans for migrating customers to cloud-based systems and identifying areas where they can save costs – often centred around how easy it would be to close a London HQ and replace it with regional offices and home workers,” says Gillies.
“If people don’t have long, busy commutes, they are more likely to walk or use a bike, and have more time to spend with friends and family. Healthy staff equals healthy businesses. Everyone wins.”
The British Business Bank is a government-owned economic development bank, helping thousands of businesses across the UK access financial information and support that they need to get back on track. British Business Bank plc and its subsidiary entities are not banking institutions and do not operate as such. Accordingly, none of the British Business Bank group of companies takes deposits or offers banking services. Find out more at british-business-bank.co.uk
