EDITOR’S COMMENT I like to think that every corporate video meeting over these past few weeks has had its own Ken. I don’t mean the same Ken as EG’s editorial meetings on Microsoft Teams – that specific Ken is a handsome little pug owned by reporter Lucy Alderson. I mean more what Ken represents. A bit of a colleague’s life that you didn’t necessarily know about before coronavirus turned our world and workplaces upside down. A pet or partner or child barging into shot as you talk targets. Artwork you might not have expected them to appreciate. Cluttered kitchens or well-kept gardens.
We have heard and read a lot about how the lockdown and enforced working from home might change us. How our weeks spent at the laptop in the living room or study could reshape our working practices when we eventually make it back to the office. This has taken some adjusting to, for sure. And I think it will change us, but almost certainly for the better.
So many people I’ve spoken with during these past couple of weeks have talked of finding some benefits to working remotely. Once they’ve got used to how to make their video conferencing set-up work and how to take themselves off mute for the 15th time, many say they are finding virtual meetings more focused and efficient than the real thing, for example.
Others tell of more personal gains, such as the developer who is now able to play sports with his children each day. I have loved being able to spend more time with the family even when tapping on the laptop, and to let my own kids see what I’m doing each day when I disappear into the Square Mile (“How many PRs ARE there?” my eight-year-old asked me as I came off a call with one last week. I told him we could probably find out, but he would likely have to put the request in an e-mail and make clear the deadline he was working to.)
Some miss the office, of course, and there are undoubtedly pressures on mental health that come from working remotely and being thrown out of the usual rhythms of our jobs. I’m not arguing that our work and home lives should blur into one. I’m sure we have all been struck by how easy it is to have the laptop on long into the evening while we work at home, answering e-mails and ticking off the to-do list for longer than we should. That’s neither healthy nor always helpful. However, these trying times have introduced greyer areas, and that doesn’t have to be a bad thing.
So as these weeks pass by, I hope many of you are able to find positives. And the recognition of the real lives of colleagues, outside of their role and where they sit in the office, feel part of that. As Emma Cariaga at British Land told us this week: “It’s been fascinating seeing everyone’s homes – I think all of this actually makes people feel even more connected. I am definitely getting to know colleagues, partners and stakeholders better because of the situation we find ourselves in, and that can only have longer-term benefits.”
I don’t know when we’ll all be back in our offices, I know we will be eventually. When we are, and when we meet around the table again rather than on screens, I hope the more personal kinds of connections that this challenging period has encouraged stay with us. And in the meantime, I hope that you, your loved ones and your Kens all stay healthy and happy.
To send feedback, e-mail tim.burke@egi.co.uk or tweet @_tim_burke or @estatesgazette
