In the New Year, Don’t Give up on Normal

New data from the Tenant Profile Network (TPN) indicates that only half of SA commercial tenants are in good standing with their landlords. TPN tracks tenant payment behaviour in South Africa.

Add this to the fact that the US media is reporting that one third of employees there have made a permanent transition to working from home and it’s tempting to predict the demise of the corporate office.

“The future of human workspaces is not simply about the minutiae of leases, access cards and landlords because we are – in fact – speaking of the future of human interaction,” says Devon Meerholz, IMIMobile SA Chief Creative & Operations Officer.

IMIMobile is a communications and software specialist focused on solutions for the mobile industry. The company is headquartered in London with offices in Hyderabad, Little Rock, Toronto, Dubai and Johannesburg.

“The bricks and mortar versus virtual topic goes way beyond the pros and cons of working in our pyjamas and whether the couch or the desk is our most productive spot,” says Mr Meerholz.

Research suggests there are many drawbacks to working from home, particularly brought about by isolation and lack of boundaries between work and home life.

The European Union, for instance, conducted research to investigate the impacts of remote work, and found employees who predominantly work from home report being more stressed than those that are office-based (Eurofound and the International Labour Office, 2017). “Working from home reduces visibility between employees and managers, and can leave employees feeling pressure to ‘look busy’ – I think we can all identity with this last point,” Mr Meerholz adds.

Furthermore, research quoted in mid-2020 by the Australian Psychological Society suggests that working from home has been associated with decreased social interaction, difficulties psychologically detaching from work, tendency to overwork, stress, depression, and anxiety. It was found that working from home can also hinder team effectiveness and creativity, and result in fewer career opportunities.

Remote working is a double-edged sword. Current working-from-home arrangements have, of course, come about through necessity. While working from home has been, and will continue to be, crucial to battling the scourge of the Coronavirus, organisational leaders must understand that human nature doesn’t change. They must carefully consider the implications of their workspace decisions and balance future risk management with the needs of both employees and the business.

Going forward into 2021, while there will surely be greater acceptance of working from home from those that have returned to the water cooler, but there is no doubt in my mind that next year, and the years after that, will see a steady shift back to the office where we’ve all previously done our best collaborative work.

The shift might be glacial at first but it will be steady until the small business person, the mom and dad on maternity and paternity leave, and a few others are the only remote workers in a sea of offices again humming with the familiar sound of creative commerce.

“Advertising and marketing professionals, in particular, must accept the fact that there is no ‘new normal’ when it comes to how we work. There is only the ‘normal’ that comes from many years of homo sapiens figuring out the best way to get things done. We’re better together and that really is the summary of it,” concludes Mr Meerholz.

Working from home is a treat. But, like all treats, it’s best enjoyed occasionally.

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