Back to Work

Back to Work – ‘The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there.’

Back to Work – or not… PV Editor Ian Reynolds-Young previews the imminent battle over the future of the workplace.

Millions of office staff would be given a ‘default’ right to work from home later this year if ministerial proposals make it to the statute book. A new law would make it impossible for employers to insist on staff attending the workplace,unless they can show it is essential. The initiative is part of a drive to promote flexible working. Consultations will be held over the summer ahead of possible legislation later this year.

So, the battle lines have been drawn.

The Daily Mail quotes ‘a Whitehall source’ as follows: ‘We are looking at introducing a default right to flexible working. That would cover things like reasonable requests by parents to start late so they can drop their kids at childcare. But in the case of office workers in particular it would also cover working from home – that would be the default right unless the employer could show good reason why someone should not.’

The Back to Work backlash has been immediate and powerful. A report from Tony Blair, (so it must be true!) suggests that ‘almost six million white-collar jobs are at risk of being shipped abroad if the work-from-home revolution continues.’

Back to Work
Digby Jones

Former CBI Boss Digby Jones, writing in The Daily Mail, thinks such a plan is madness: ‘If office workers are given the right to so-called ‘flexible working’, our town and city centres will die, local tax revenues will evaporate, transport systems will collapse and productivity will fall’ he said. ‘We will revert to the enervating era of the British disease of the 1970s, of low ambition and absence of national self-confidence, of underinvestment and industrial unrest.’

From the other camp, Peter Cheese, Co-Chairman of the Flexible Working Taskforce, said last month that the pandemic has demonstrated that staff can work effectively outside traditional workplaces. He cited a survey showing that 71 per cent of firms had found home working either boosted or made no difference to their productivity.’

Needless to say, such a change in the law would be very bad news for operators providing vending and OCS services, for whom a mass movement Back to Work would provide a much-needed lifeline. Let’s hope the AVA’s voice is heard during the coming months.

God help the younger element of the work force if their employers, eager to cut costs, close their offices and send them home. Personally, I thrived on the office ‘craic’ and POET’s day get togethers down the boozer. Who wants to sit alone at the kitchen table all day?

Research undertaken late in April, 2021, of 1,500 UK and US office workers, seems to bear this out, as it reveals that spontaneous office interactions between co-workers can boost individual wellbeing and productivity for over an hour. Additionally, 45% of employees report feeling happier after such encounters, and around a third say they feel more motivated, creative and productive.

All things considered, law or no law, the smart money is that neither faction will emerge with an outright victory in the Stay at Home versus Back to Work conflict. ‘And the winner is: ‘hybrid working’.

Chargifi is a company that provides workplace leaders with the operating system that empowers teams to make ‘the best choices about how, when and where to do their best work, and deliver data-driven insights into how people use spaces to continuously improve experiences.’ Dan Bladen, Chargifi Co-Founder and CEO said: ‘Apple’s recent three-day-a-week office request is a great example of how leading organisations have recognised the critical need to better balance in-person and virtual interactions. Our research shows the impact of unexpected connections on productivity and creativity, every day.

Back to Work
Dan Bladen

New hybrid working models should help employees achieve the right balance and weighting between home and office working’ Dan added. ‘Done right, hybrid maintains the productivity and flexibility benefits of remote, while blending the creativity and wellbeing boost gained from in-person connections. Many organizations are starting to miss the benefits previously gained from these interactions, and now see it’s potential to deliver a competitive advantage in today’s landscape.”

‘We’re relational creatures, wired for connection and that’s where the magic happens.’

Interestingly, the same research revealed that ‘watercooler moments’ were one of the most noted benefits of office work, in the opinion of 55% of respondents.

‘We’re relational creatures, wired for connection and that’s where the magic happens’, Dan continued. ‘Ideas form faster, decisions are made quicker. Now there’s every reason for companies to offer ways to combine all the great things about remote and in person working. This is as much about workspace design, as it is about understanding the context of booking spaces, for example, when individuals and groups will be in the office, or at home, and how and when they can best connect.

Back to Work :However things eventually pan out, it’s clear that we ain’t going back to that which we once took for granted.

People will be travelling to ‘the office’ to participate in those occasions that require collaboration and interaction. In other words, these business occasions will double as social occasions. As such, food and drink – especially coffee – will be at the heart of the new office life, as will comfortable environments in which staff can gather together.

It’s life Jim: maybe ‘not as we know it’, but the new normal will present our industry with a wealth of new opportunities. The winners will be those that recognise, as did the novelist LP Hartley, that ‘the past is a foreign country; they do things differently there.’

For more vending and OCS news and feature articles, visit Planet Vending.

About the author

The Editor

Planet Vending’s Editor is Ian Reynolds-Young and it’s Ian’s unique writing talent that has made PV what it is today – the best read (red) vending blog in the world, and vending’s best read (reed). Ian ‘tripped and fell into vending’, in the capacity of PR executive, before launching a specialist agency, ‘reynoldscopy’, dedicated to the UK Vending business. The company continues to represent the interests of many of the sector’s leading brands.

‘It’s all about telling stories’, he says. ‘We want to make every visit to PV a rewarding experience. By celebrating the achievements of the UK’s operating companies, we’re on a mission to debunk the idea that vending is retailing’s poor relation.’

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