{"id":5564,"date":"2020-12-23T15:11:35","date_gmt":"2020-12-23T15:11:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.paadiran.com\/?p=5564"},"modified":"2021-01-19T08:22:04","modified_gmt":"2021-01-19T08:22:04","slug":"company-culture-is-very-powerful-but-its-being-lost-at-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.paadiran.com\/en\/company-culture-is-very-powerful-but-its-being-lost-at-home\/","title":{"rendered":"Company Culture Is Very Powerful, But It\u2019s Being Lost At Home"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Simon Rusk<\/a>, from BE Offices, believes it is time we head back to the office and reconnect with our teams and work communities. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/span>This article was originally published by Allwork.Space<\/a>.<\/em><\/span><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Working from home has its benefits. As we\u2019ve discovered over the past few months, working from home means no time-draining commute, fewer early mornings and in theory at least, better work\/life flexibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But six months on from the initial lockdown, have we reached the point where we have become too reliant on working from home? Is it time to step out of our comfort zones and begin re-connecting with our teams and workplace communities?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Simon Rusk<\/a>, who co-founded BE Offices in 1993, it\u2019s well past time. And he is leading by example.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m going into the office as much as possible now, at least two or three times per week,\u201d said Rusk during a phone interview with Allwork.Space. \u201cWe have a rota system in place for our team and we are encouraging them to do the same.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All of BE\u2019s offices have been redesigned to enable physical distancing and fitted with COVID-19 safety measures. And while many staff members could theoretically continue working from home, Rusk is eager to bring them back together to reignite team cohesion and creativity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe average age of our team is mid-twenties. Unless they come back in, it\u2019s easy to forget how to work as a team, how to be in an office and interact with people. It starts to fall away.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/span>Tech platforms only offer \u201cone way conversations\u201d<\/span><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Most of BE\u2019s serviced offices are located in Central London or other city centres including Belfast and Birmingham. But surprisingly and despite widespread concerns about congested trains and buses, getting to the office isn\u2019t causing a problem. According to Rusk, many parts of the capital including the West End and the Financial District are \u201clike a ghost town\u201d and even the underground trains are distinctly under-occupied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although restrictions have been relaxed, it\u2019s clear that many people are continuing to work from home. But for Rusk, this is causing multiple problems both in the short-term and further down the line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPlatforms like Zoom and Teams are very good for disseminating information. But it\u2019s a one way conversation. In a big meeting when everyone is talking, it\u2019s chaos!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s exhausting too. Even after many months, video still doesn\u2019t feel like a permanent solution to collaborating in-person, and it probably never will. Part of this is because it\u2019s harder to pick up non-verbal cues<\/a> like facial expressions, the tone and pitch of the voice, and body language \u2014 not to mention frustrating connectivity issues that create lags or distorted audio.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Relying entirely on this form of communication also hampers growth opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you want your company to stay as it is, and it\u2019s very top-down where the leader disseminates information and doesn\u2019t require an upwards flow of information or ideas, it\u2019s fine. That\u2019s what the tools give you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut they don\u2019t create environments for creativity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Creativity is vital to enable companies to design new products or develop their services, attract new customers, and move towards sustainable growth. But that only happens through creativity \u2014 and that requires real human interaction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMost ideas come through informal conversations, over the coffee machine, and when you\u2019re in an office and you overhear conversations \u2014 that\u2019s where creative energy comes from.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t get that from working in isolation and communicating through tech platforms.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/span>Culture and creativity are victims of home-working<\/span><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The problem is that after six months, many people have become accustomed to working within their home environments; it\u2019s comfortable, if not entirely convenient.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve become stalled. We are creatures of habit and we\u2019ve got used to being at home, for better or worse, and it\u2019s very hard for people to get out of their comfort zone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another victim of the home-based workforce is company culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s another reason why I have encouraged my staff back. Corporate culture is very powerful, but it\u2019s a really difficult thing to build and it\u2019s also very easy to lose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s that intangible asset that companies have, and it\u2019s created by the dynamic between groups of people. Working from home does not create corporate culture, in fact that\u2019s how you lose it. People become narrow-focused, they focus purely on the job in front of them, on the screen, but their role and responsibility is actually way more than that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/span>Isolation leads to stress and mental health concerns<\/span><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

And there is a darker side to working from home that\u2019s impacting an entirely different health crisis: our mental health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Research by UK-based IPSE<\/a> (Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed) found a dramatic rise in the number of self-employed people saying they have \u201cpoor\u201d or \u201cvery poor\u201d mental health, which has increased from 6% to 26% since the beginning of the pandemic. The number of people saying they had \u201cgood\u201d or \u201cexcellent\u201d mental health has also dropped significantly, from 68% to 39%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYour home is your safe space. The ability to switch off from work is vitally important. It\u2019s important for your family life, for stress, and for your mental health<\/a>. But too often over the past few months, this has been dismissed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As human beings, we may feel comfortable at home but when work invades our safe space, or when we feel isolated from teamwork and day-to-day decisions, it\u2019s easy to lose the feeling of cohesion or belonging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUltimately we\u2019ve all got to remember, humans are animals \u2014 we are social creatures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWorking from home distances you from people, you don\u2019t speak with them or have meaningful conversations. You end up keeping people at arm\u2019s length. Home is a very easy and controlled bubble to be in, but it loses a lot of what life\u2019s about, including creativity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/span>Sensible, well-balanced return to work<\/span><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTo think there is no disadvantage to working from home is ridiculous. And our clients are starting to realise that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rusk believes that we have now reached a point where people should begin coming back to work in a way that\u2019s sensibly balanced and well-managed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Team rotas, office time-sharing and staggered start times make it possible to bring everyone into the office safely at least two days per week, says Rusk, which enables organisations to fuel collaboration, ignite creativity, and rebuild their company culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe office once again becomes the focal point of a business. It\u2019s where you create your team cohesion, your ideas, your dynamic, your culture; it\u2019s where all those amazing intangible things come together and make good business happen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/span>How do we get there?<\/span><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

There is currently a void between staying at home, in an environment that\u2019s controlled and comfortable. Or there\u2019s the leap of faith that\u2019s required to step back into an environment that, after many months, feels distant and insecure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Working from home was always going to be temporary, but with no deadline or clear direction on when and how people should return to the workplace, Rusk believes that the first step needs to come from bigger companies. \u201cIf big companies don\u2019t lead the way, the smaller ones aren\u2019t going to encourage their people to come back to work.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When this happens, not only can we fulfill our human need for social interaction, but our workplaces can begin to rebuild their local economies and communities, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think we all have a bigger responsibility here. What about all those smaller businesses that rely on the staff of big companies? The shops, cafes and small restaurants that rely on commuters and staff lunches? You could say as a big company, why do I care? They\u2019re not my responsibility. But I think they are. Because when small companies go bust, the next ones to fall are the bigger companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAll those small businesses are someone\u2019s livelihood. By helping them, you help yourself in the long-run.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor big companies to turn their backs, I think it\u2019s morally and financially wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ultimately, Rusk believes that large companies should lead the way and begin bringing people back to work in a way that\u2019s balanced and sensible. \u201cIf someone is late because they waited for a less-congested train, it doesn\u2019t matter. What\u2019s important is being sensible and working with this seismic change,\u201d added Rusk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It starts with a safe workplace and by educating people about safe practices, but it also requires a lot of the flexibility we\u2019ve seen over the past few months. Instead of archaic nine-to-five thinking, companies should embrace flexibility and allow people to make practical decisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rusk believes that by refocusing attention to the office as a hub for collaboration, we will begin to move forwards and adapt to the next normal, where we can rebuild our teams, companies, and our interconnected communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe need to get this economy ticking over again,\u201d added Rusk. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter what business you\u2019re in, we need to get back to work.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Simon Rusk, from BE Offices, believes it is time we head back to the office and reconnect with our teams and work communities.  This article was originally published by Allwork.Space. Working from home has its benefits. As we\u2019ve discovered over the past few months, working from home means no time-draining commute, fewer early mornings and in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5566,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"_eb_attr":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[72],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.paadiran.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5564"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.paadiran.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.paadiran.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paadiran.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paadiran.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5564"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.paadiran.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5564\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5575,"href":"https:\/\/www.paadiran.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5564\/revisions\/5575"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paadiran.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5566"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.paadiran.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5564"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paadiran.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5564"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paadiran.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5564"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}