London and major cities around the world are back to their bubbling best; commuter activity and retail footfall is returning, tourists are here and getting a last-minute table at your favourite lunch spot is as hard as it ever was.

In early 2020 we were all thrust into a new way of working, remotely. The clamour for more flexibility had been growing and gaining traction, but this was to the extreme and something very new for most. Working in a hoody, a minimal commute from bed to sofa, and an opportunity to get through the domestic to do list (!?) all certainly had their appeals. This also forced all professional life to move behind the screen and boiling under the surface there have been other detrimental effects that can't be ignored.

Productivity rates have stagnated, rates of depression and anxiety are on the increase. We are more stressed and more isolated. Without vital social interactions that the office and the face-to-face meetings provide; the gossip, jokes, shared lunches, casual drinks and even the office romances, the day becomes a mundane to-do list. Additionally, without the layers of social context, understanding corporate messaging becomes more challenging, contributing to an increasing sense of disconnection. In turn this impacts the employee/employer relationship, eroding the 'stickiness' that creates cultural bonds, which additionally extends to the other key relationships in our networks. VC meetings serve a purpose but do little to enhance long lasting business relationships.

Productivity Boost?

Annual productivity growth, averaging a measly 0.4% post the financial crisis, should be a wake-up call. It's not just the 'home sweet home' vibe but the challenges that tag along with it. Oddly, while remote workers are investing longer hours, their effectiveness dwindles.

The Office of National Statistics reported that 24% felt more distracted at home and Upgraded Points found people spent time in front of their screen in non-work activities such as scrolling through social media, online shopping or watching tv shows. We might not be so cynical and would suggest that this is an effect rather than a cause, but we see how remote work inadvertently nurtures procrastination, can lead to lack of motivation and focus, and emotional detachment. Of course, ticking off household chores, walking the dog, and saving on childcare are convenient, but at what cost?

Burnt-Out Workforce?

Experts are sounding the alarm about the implications for the health and wellbeing of the workforce. A recent report by the CIPD showed a staggering increase in sick days, jumping to an average of 7.8 days compared to the pre-pandemic average of 5.8 days. As well as an overall increase in absence, it found stress to be a significant factor for both short- and long-term absence, with over 76% of respondents reporting stress-related absence in their organisation in the past year. Sarah Mayo, a renowned workplace mental health specialist said that this is a clear sign that the mental and physical health of our workforce is under significant strain.

Microsoft's recent New Future Of Work Report backs this up, finding employees working from home to be “lonelier and more prone to feelings of guilt when calling in sick or taking breaks, leading to overcompensation”.

Being part of an office community might just be the remedy to isolation, breathing life back into our mental well-being. The structured office environment helps strike a healthier work-life balance, keeping burnout at bay. Perhaps our daily commute, more than being viewed as an inconvenience, should be remembered as bookends to our days. A chance to prepare, decompress and separate the toils of labour from those at home. UCL's published study this month demonstrated the dangers of sitting, suggesting that even the walk to the station and to the office has a significant impact on the health of our hearts.

The calls for greater flexibility and fluidity in the workplace began before the Pandemic restrictions, and with good reason as the numerous benefits are widely accepted. As with all new cycles and trends, the tendency is to transition quickly to the extreme. As we all look to the future and seek to strike a new balance, returning to the office, could just be to the ace up our sleeve.

If many of the new problems the workplace is facing today have exacerbated since the WFH revolution, perhaps the future lies in the past. The time has come to restrike our balance and get back into the office, spending more time, in person, with our networks: For the good of the economy, for business, for ourselves and for each other.

One Last Thing…

Did the much-touted Great Resignation ever really happen? Investor confidence is mirrored by employer and candidate confidence, so as we have lurched back and forth between Brexit, lockdowns, Trussonomics, war and conflict, it's little surprise that these confidences haven't peaked. The rationale and logic for this Great Resignation is still valid, maybe even more so as we grapple with new/old working patterns and behaviour, so it's still coming, just not quite yet.