Finding the right balance of remote working

It has been more than a year since the UK was put into the initial lockdown, and since then life has changed tremendously. Yet, now as the UK starts to make the return to ‘normality’ (if that’s what you can call it), I’m having ever increasing conversations about working location.

With both employers and employees being plunged into remote working through necessity, we’ve seen people get used to the pros and cons of working from home. Some have gotten used to the idea of full-time home life, and others are clawing at the walls to get back to the office. So let’s explore it…

It is incredibly subjective to your business whether remote working actually works or not, right?

Some studios exclusively rely on collaborative working, bouncing and parrying ideas off one another to get the creative juices flowing. In most cases, this can only be done in person because the creative spark can sometimes be lost over bad internet connection and the lack of instant feedback.

In an ideal world, we would all be as efficient as the technology advertises, seamlessly working across platforms to be always ‘in contact’. In reality, a lot of the time we can find ourselves covered in cat hair, trying to wrestle 2 screaming kids whilst dealing with and hard case of Zoom fatigue.

In other cases, remote working can be extremely effective. I work with multiple studios that have closed their office, or never had one set up in the first place. The majority of these studios are CGI based, with the main portion of work being made by creatives working solitarily, and without the need for collaboration at every turn.

Whilst this may be a good thing for some, lack of human contact is not everyone’s cup of tea. As someone whose partner has been working from home since the start of this pandemic, I can tell you that I see a hint of jealousy when I get on my bike and ride to the office every morning.

So, not everybody wants to work remotely, and not everybody wants to work in the office – the struggle is to find a balance.

If you are lucky enough to have the option to allow for a hybrid working week, then offer that. If it works for your company and doesn’t impede on performance, then your employees will appreciate the flexibility, and if they want to come in full time, they can!

If you’re a company that thrives off the working environment, then make the call. It may mean that your talent pool becomes a little smaller, but if that’s the culture that your business needs to succeed then you’re already saving time on your hiring process by making it a requisite.

Similarly, if you’re an employee that likes the perks of working from home, then you need to make the call. First off, bring it to your employers’ attention and see whether there is an option – they may be able to give you flexibility. If not, then you need to decide which is more important to you.

All in all, there is an infinite number of opinions on this matter, and I don’t think that any company will ever be able to get it completely right. The main thing is to know what works for you and go with that.

This blog was written by James Newman, Team Leader – mustardVIZ. If you would like to speak with James or any member of his team, please contact him on 0117 284 0075 or at [email protected].

Whether you are an existing client/candidate or new he would be keen to speak with you and find out how mustard could be of assistance! Furthermore, don’t forget to check out our website at https://www.mustardjobs.co.uk/ to stay up to date with all our latest jobs and goings-on.