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As a psychologist, I’ m interested in understanding the needs and behaviours of humans. It’ s a worrying time in the world of work.
I do workplace research and strategy, for all sorts of businesses across the UK. For many years we have been asking their employees what they like most about their workplace. The reply has always been‘ the people’.
Do we think that this has changed since the Covid pandemic? Do we believe that people are no longer interested in spending time with people? Equally, do we think a stilted, Dalek-like video call fulfils our needs for human connection?
The answer is a resounding‘ no’. So why are businesses making decisions based around the assumptions that human beings are not social animals? That their employees will not only survive but will thrive working from home, alone, for the majority of their working hours?
Many of the businesses that previously boasted strong leadership and decisive management are now uncertain about their workplace strategy. Decisions are being driven by savings- and if a business can show that it was their employees’ choice to work from home then it’ s a win-win.
But does that make financial sense? Employee costs are typically 10 or 20 times those of workplace overhead. Without inspirational places that create culture, community and creativity, as well as support learning, knowledge sharing, and wellbeing, won’ t
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businesses be guilty of not investing in their key asset?
The danger is that businesses
are likely over time to lose their
heartbeat, their community, their
home. Yet few people seem to be
acknowledging this.
Do not underestimate isolation Social isolation has been forced upon us during lockdown and has been cited as a key reason for avoiding further lockdowns. Yet many businesses are considering high levels of homeworking when we emerge. This is understandable when looking at the bottom line – but what will the human cost be?
The power of community & physical health The impact of lack of human connection on our mental health is instinctive but just the tip of the iceberg. Recent scientific studies have investigated the link between social isolation and physical health, with alarming findings. One study found that having few social connections has the same impact as smoking 15 cigarettes! Social isolation has moved from a wellbeing issue to a global health crisis.
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We are more aware than ever of the value of our relationships. We rely on the remedial potential of being connected to others. This is what makes me concerned that we are going to blow it totally by encouraging such high levels of home working.
People meet friends and partners at work, developing a depth of trust and understanding that rarely comes from‘ virtual only’ relationships. Existing relationships may survive the transition to virtual but developing a solid and meaningful relationship with someone virtually does not achieve the same end result.
Senior people who decide their business’ s workplace strategy tend to be self-motivated, driven, can work independently, and usually have a good homeworking set up. They have a lot of people in their networks so are relieved to not have the distractions they had in the office. Yet they are exactly the people who need to be in the office— there to transfer knowledge, to lead, to inspire.
I want to be very clear here …
I am not suggesting that businesses shouldn’ t have some element of home working. Let’ s envisage the workplace as an ecosystem of physical, virtual and social, not as a binary of office and home. It simply doesn’ t make sense to spend time commuting to another place if all we are going to do that day is have our heads down writing a report.
One or two days a week home alone will suffice for most people, spending the rest of the working week together with others. It might
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be in a hub destination workplace, or a local spoke, a co-working space or café.
The destination hub needs to be a vibrant, collaborative, inspirational, tech-enabled workplace. Somewhere people want to go to rather than feel they have to. Where collaboration and creativity are the mechanism through which to share knowledge, engendering diversity of thought and experience. That’ s not to say there shouldn’ t be any quiet working in the shared workplace. There will continue to be many people who simply can’ t work from home on any day, due to their domestic or psychological circumstances, and they should not be denied a place to work.
The workplace of the future will be welcoming, varied, and highly tailored to employee experience and wellbeing.
Just as long as the decision makers can see beyond their own desires and circumstances to what their people need and make brave decisions about what is best for them.
Deborah Wilder, Head of Research & Strategy, deborah. wilder @ interaction. uk. com
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