One pandemic later: why we’ll never change the way we work unless we work to change it

I remember being 22 and staying late in the office working on something. Before you left you would always send an email to prove you were still in the office working late. And if you got in early you would always send an email to prove you were in early. I am ancient clearly. But that’s not the point. The point is, we have always felt the need to prove we’re working outside our core hours. Whether that’s to get a tyrant boss off your case, show you’re dedicated or some sort of weird posturing that you’re clearly the hardest working most hard done by person and let’s face it, you’re not really working unless you’re working all the goddamned time. If we’re being honest here, we’ve all done it at some stage.

Back in those days you would also clock watch until 5:30 when, depending on where you worked you’d either leap up and leg it or casually start packing up hoping someone else was first to leave so you didn’t look like you were a complete slacker (even though technically the working day was over) or worse, and this was my pet hate, suddenly everyone needed you to approve things or draft things….um…. what do you mean this needs to be done by morning? It’s my end of day too? Couldn’t you have mentioned this two hours ago?

I once asked about flexible working and changing core hours and was told that in a client service business that’s tricky, because clients need us available during core hours. I remember feeling very confused by this because in reality, whenever a client has needed me now, now, now (be it an emergency, crisis, launch event shenanigans* etc) it’s never been at 10:30am just after my refreshing coffee break. It’s been exploding batteries and listening to BBC Radio 1 Newsbeat playing “burn baby burn” on repeat before they cover the story for the 1,000th time as I drive along the M4 to my grandmother’s cremation (irony not lost) whilst calling The Times back with an update to the statement. It’s been launch events that involve long nights and early starts and weekend travel. It’s been changes in messaging that need to happen by 8am for which you only got the brief at 6pm.

Agency life cannot be core hours plus constantly on call with time in lieu for weekends only – WTF is this shit? Who would sign up to a career in that…?*coughs*

Now fast forward 20 odd years and a global pandemic later that saw everyone – and let’s be REALLY clear on this – it saw everyone at home in an emergency trying to work. It was not normal working from home, popping your washing on and having This Morning on in the background. But boy oh boy have all the soothsayers come out of hiding to say how we’ve changed the way we work forever! And it took a bloody pandemic to make that happen. Because cultural change is hard. But guess what folks? We haven’t really changed. We still work overtime, we still want to show how busy we are (possibly more so now in this state of emergency?) and we still don’t have the balance right…(I know right – hold the front page).

Before the pandemic hit, we rolled out Intelligent Working. A fully flexible working policy designed to let AxiCommers take full control over their working days. Guided by our core principles of Intelligence, Integrity and Initiative, we put trust in our teams to not let the ball drop, meet client needs, and meet their own needs. What a utopian dream! The only thing that really changed was that people didn’t text to say they were 10 minutes late, and a handful of people worked from home with more confidence and not a convoluted list of reasons why – not that that list was ever asked for, we seem conditioned to offer it up though. Hey, it was a start.  

Then the pandemic hit. And praise be for Intelligent Working, which became a solid framework for us to ensure we delivered a high functioning, managed remote working situation from the get go – no panics, no need to roll anything new out – Intelligent Working had our back.  

And as we look to the future, the biggest thing the pandemic and our togetherness of trying to work at home in an emergency (note I remain careful not to say simply all working from home) has taught us, is that our clients understand that sometimes people might not be available immediately because they’re dealing with kids lunches or taking a much needed and empathised screen break, or walk, or they had to do any number of other things you have to do in your day. After all, our clients were living this too and perhaps without something like Intelligent Working to guide them. And if our client survey told us anything it’s that they felt we went above and beyond during this pandemic – we stepped up, opened up and partnered up.

And so as we refresh our Intelligent Working Principles for the new new normal, I would say we have completely changed the game for the client service industry. We are killing presenteeism and we are driving diversity and equality by focusing solely on the 3 I’s of Intelligence, Integrity and Initiative, putting no barriers to entry around how, when and where you work – as long as your clients' needs are met and teams’ time respected and we’re opening up to a talent pool throughout the UK that’s not South East centric.

But how will you make this work? How do you stop people working into their personal time the way we’ve seen from the pandemic? I mean firstly this pandemic has not been normal…no-one made plans for a start and for some, work became a distraction – but don’t derail me now, I’m hitting the crescendo…

Culture change starts from the top, and a wise HR business partner of mine once said, if I don’t do it, no-one will. And it’s true. Think back to that posturing of old, proving you’re online earlier/later than everyone else. My industry peers are not famed for saying “you know I had a smashing morning, took a lie in, went for a long run, grabbed brunch and didn’t open my laptop until lunch. I feel really refreshed and had the most productive afternoon ever.” Not publicly at least. We feel the need to show the constant hustle, that we’re always on (like GPRS – old tech joke from 2003…you’re welcome). But behaviour breeds behaviour.

In our industry there will always be crunch times, when clients have launches (seemingly always at the same time) or crises, or big projects, we cannot take those away but we can provide a work environment that offers complete flexibility, so when it’s less hectic you can bring back balance.

It’s more than hybrid working, it’s complete flexibility, in the office, out of the office, from home, from a distance, in the middle of the night. We just ask in return for a really good job and mutual respect. I think that’s a pretty good deal, and I believe in it, even if I still feel a teensy bit panicky when I am walking in the park at 10am despite working late the previous night with no pressing deadlines or anyone needing me until after lunch.

Old habits die hard but if we don’t work to change them, we’ll never change work.

*official term of inevitable last minute launch churn