Alexandra Marsanu is a Ward Chair at Holborn and St Pancras Conservatives and Deputy Chair for London at Conservative Young Women. She works professionally as a strategy consultant.
A polarising debate has been taking place recently. On one hand, there is a rare alliance between the Government, media and auxiliary businesses denouncing the impact of homeworking on highstreets, career growth and the mental health of the workers themselves. On the other, you see a majority of workers perfectly content to keep calm and carry on.
No more squeezing on the tube at rush hour; no more money wasted on soggy sandwiches and coffee; no more interruptions or time lost in pointless chitchat over what you did last weekend. An era of high productivity and improved home life is upon us. But would it really be that easy?
Rather than an expected gradual shift to flexible working driven by innovation in collaboration tools, an increase in the ‘gig economy’ or drive for decarbonisation, we have not been given time or choice.
Over the course of a few unusual days, offices were shut down and kitchen tables were seized for the new digital future of the 2020s. We have made do so well with Zoom and Teams and home-made banana loaf that office life seems from a bygone era – not fit for the modern days of self-driving cars and 3D printed buildings. But let’s not forget that they say ‘good things take time’ for a reason.
Although our homes may be packed with monitors and Amazon boxes, many business owners are looking at the empty chairs and aisles and wondering for how long they can still go on. The furlough anaesthetic is due to wear off, and with money quickly running out many are in for a tough autumn.
And for some, it may indeed be time to close shop. Why should taxpayers prop up a chain business just because they hire many people? For many others, it may be difficult to see the value in what they offer. Why would we need to go out and spend our hard-earned money on overcrowded trains and £3 coffee?
Of course, it is difficult to empathise with businesses. After all, the free market will take its tool eventually. But with a £2 trillion debt and still many months of uncertainty to come, there is a case for the economics that has worked so well until now.
Through the measures seen so far, the Government seems to be doing just that. Taking a page out of Keynesian economics, it’s looking to maintain today’s supply for when demand recovers, hopefully next year. And given how symbiotic our economy is, nothing makes more sense.
Many professional areas can be taken as examples. In consulting, banking and legal services the mix of industries needing support is under a constant shift. Where public sector work may be building up in the short term for areas such as consultancy, the impact of huge retailers or automotive companies shutting down is already playing out, and will do so during the months and years to come
Similarly, jobs supporting the most affected industries ranging from marketing to accounting may take a hit as cuts to the frontline are slimming down operations. Even a coveted career in technology may not be completely safe, since technology changes take years to implement and big players such as Accenture or IBM are already reporting job cuts in the past few months. If the impact is big enough, one way or another thange will reach all of us.
So what is there to do? Isn’t the Government’s job to save jobs? Is it really up to each of us to dash to the office so we can put yet another plaster on the economy? After all, we have already eaten our way towards the hospitability recovery last month.
Well, the fact of the matter is that we can’t just go back to the old ways. You see, there wouldn’t really be the space for all of us to go back in the office due to social distancing.
But we can’t expect that the world we see today is here for the long run. Not in an economy which is 30 per cent based on consumption. Unemployment benefits and a significant decrease in tax receipts will only divert from spending which can help make public services better or ease the debt for future generations. Considering a phased or rotational return to the office may be our best contribution until the tourists are back or workers can re-skill.
An exciting ‘future of work’ revolution is already here – one where we balance our work and home life in hybrid working patterns fit for a highly productive economy. And it may indeed be a useless pursuit to spend the money today in saving something that won’t be required tomorrow. But no revolution comes without pain and time to rebuild is what’s needed now.
Alexandra Marsanu is a Ward Chair at Holborn and St Pancras Conservatives and Deputy Chair for London at Conservative Young Women. She works professionally as a strategy consultant.
A polarising debate has been taking place recently. On one hand, there is a rare alliance between the Government, media and auxiliary businesses denouncing the impact of homeworking on highstreets, career growth and the mental health of the workers themselves. On the other, you see a majority of workers perfectly content to keep calm and carry on.
No more squeezing on the tube at rush hour; no more money wasted on soggy sandwiches and coffee; no more interruptions or time lost in pointless chitchat over what you did last weekend. An era of high productivity and improved home life is upon us. But would it really be that easy?
Rather than an expected gradual shift to flexible working driven by innovation in collaboration tools, an increase in the ‘gig economy’ or drive for decarbonisation, we have not been given time or choice.
Over the course of a few unusual days, offices were shut down and kitchen tables were seized for the new digital future of the 2020s. We have made do so well with Zoom and Teams and home-made banana loaf that office life seems from a bygone era – not fit for the modern days of self-driving cars and 3D printed buildings. But let’s not forget that they say ‘good things take time’ for a reason.
Although our homes may be packed with monitors and Amazon boxes, many business owners are looking at the empty chairs and aisles and wondering for how long they can still go on. The furlough anaesthetic is due to wear off, and with money quickly running out many are in for a tough autumn.
And for some, it may indeed be time to close shop. Why should taxpayers prop up a chain business just because they hire many people? For many others, it may be difficult to see the value in what they offer. Why would we need to go out and spend our hard-earned money on overcrowded trains and £3 coffee?
Of course, it is difficult to empathise with businesses. After all, the free market will take its tool eventually. But with a £2 trillion debt and still many months of uncertainty to come, there is a case for the economics that has worked so well until now.
Through the measures seen so far, the Government seems to be doing just that. Taking a page out of Keynesian economics, it’s looking to maintain today’s supply for when demand recovers, hopefully next year. And given how symbiotic our economy is, nothing makes more sense.
Many professional areas can be taken as examples. In consulting, banking and legal services the mix of industries needing support is under a constant shift. Where public sector work may be building up in the short term for areas such as consultancy, the impact of huge retailers or automotive companies shutting down is already playing out, and will do so during the months and years to come
Similarly, jobs supporting the most affected industries ranging from marketing to accounting may take a hit as cuts to the frontline are slimming down operations. Even a coveted career in technology may not be completely safe, since technology changes take years to implement and big players such as Accenture or IBM are already reporting job cuts in the past few months. If the impact is big enough, one way or another thange will reach all of us.
So what is there to do? Isn’t the Government’s job to save jobs? Is it really up to each of us to dash to the office so we can put yet another plaster on the economy? After all, we have already eaten our way towards the hospitability recovery last month.
Well, the fact of the matter is that we can’t just go back to the old ways. You see, there wouldn’t really be the space for all of us to go back in the office due to social distancing.
But we can’t expect that the world we see today is here for the long run. Not in an economy which is 30 per cent based on consumption. Unemployment benefits and a significant decrease in tax receipts will only divert from spending which can help make public services better or ease the debt for future generations. Considering a phased or rotational return to the office may be our best contribution until the tourists are back or workers can re-skill.
An exciting ‘future of work’ revolution is already here – one where we balance our work and home life in hybrid working patterns fit for a highly productive economy. And it may indeed be a useless pursuit to spend the money today in saving something that won’t be required tomorrow. But no revolution comes without pain and time to rebuild is what’s needed now.