The upheaval of Covid lockdowns prompted a rethink not just of where we work but when and why. It sparked declarations that there could be no return to old working methods. As bosses ordered staff back to the office, this new order seemed to fade. Yet, changes have stuck, from how we communicate and manage, to our attitudes to work and health. FT writers and contributors assess what is different five years on — and where the missed opportunities lie.
How we do meetings
Pilita Clark, FT business columnist
At the end of 2019, the idea that something as predictable and ubiquitous as the fully face-to-face meeting was about to be upended forever would have sounded unhinged. And yet it was.
Predictions that the virtual meeting would fade away to pre-pandemic levels once we headed back to the office were wrong. The 10.32 remote or hybrid meetings that workers averaged a week in 2022 only dipped slightly, to 10.1 in 2023, a study showed last year. People meet online even when everyone is in the same office. Meeting invitations commonly include a virtual link, all the better to record and transcribe. Most astonishing of all, people now go to virtual meetings without ever once hearing the words, “you’re on mute”.
Missed opportunity
It was hard enough to find an empty meeting room before Covid, but the rise of hybrid working and online meetings always threatened to make it worse. Many companies had a stab at increasing space, installing tardis-like office “pods” and padded booths — but the effort faltered. The result: offices across the world ring with the plaintive complaint that you can never find a free room.
The Zoom wave
Emma Jacobs, FT feature writer
In those desolate days of social distancing, when the elbow bump was the closest contact allowed outside our bubbles, some predicted the end of the handshake. “I don’t think we should ever shake hands ever again,” said Anthony Fauci, then US chief medical officer, in 2020.
This is one piece of advice I am pleased we ignored. The handshake fulfils a necessary function — an acknowledgment more formal than a kiss but warmer than a nod. Of course, it can all too easily become a power play, as with Donald Trump, who likes them white-knuckled or far too long. Please keep it firm, one-handed, and unclammy.
What the pandemic gave us was a new ritual: the Zoom wave. It doesn’t matter how serious the conversation — whither the future of financial markets or mass redundancies — inevitably, someone will raise their hand at the end, like a children’s presenter signalling to infants it is time for bed.
Missed opportunity
I hoped the pandemic might signal the death of the business kiss — or worse, the hug. What are the rules? One kiss or two, on the cheek or in the air. It’s prone to awkwardness. Let’s agree to shake on it.
Hybrid work
Nick Bloom, Stanford University economist
Covid shifted working from home from a rare exception prompted by illness, bad weather or transport chaos to a common perk. This change — which endures despite recent return-to-office calls — will be perhaps the greatest silver lining of the pandemic. It benefits employees with less commuting, companies with reduced office costs and lower staff turnover, and society with less transit pollution and more family time. More than 80 per cent of Fortune 500 companies that responded to a recent survey now offer hybrid schedules to professional employees, typically three days in the office and two at home each week. The downside can be that some workers experience an “always-on” culture, blurring the lines between work and personal time.
Missed opportunity
Fully remote work has faded and is now rare outside tech and jobs in areas such as call centres or data entry. CEOs want employees back in the office, for at least part of the week. Those dreams of a fully remote life in the countryside, a ski resort or next to the beach have ended.
Sickness
Sarah O’Connor, FT employment columnist
Downing Lemsips at your desk. Sneezing performatively when the boss walks past. It’s hard to remember now but going to work while moderately sick was commonplace before the pandemic. In the UK, where I live, the number of days lost per worker to sickness absence fell steadily from more than 7 per year in the mid-1990s to just over 4 by 2019. But for white-collar workers who can easily work from home, it is no longer socially acceptable to spread germs around the office. I made this mistake recently, only for one colleague to inch away from me in the lift, and another to glower at me: “If you cough, you’re off.”
Missed opportunity
I lament the end of lockdown’s fully-online meetings. There was something democratising about the way everyone had to raise their (emoji) hand and wait their turn to speak. In the real world of dynamic and lively meetings, people like me, who don’t like to interrupt and talk over people, struggle to get the same chance to speak.
The side hustle
Anjli Raval, ft management editor
Hybrid working opened the door to more people taking on additional freelance work, part-time gigs and embracing the side hustle — either officially or unofficially. Some of this was prompted by the cost of living crisis and economic uncertainty. But it was also driven by people questioning traditional career paths and wanting more flexibility. While some companies have tightened their policies on outside work, more people want to dictate their own terms and are willing to give up the stability of a salaried job with a single employer for greater freedom.
Missed opportunity
During the pandemic, the concept of working asynchronously took hold, particularly as employers hired across time zones. Staff worked independently on their own schedules, without fretting about responding immediately to emails. As presenteeism and meetings return, this more autonomous culture is diminishing.
Office dress
Robert Armstrong, FT US financial commentator
In 2018, I wrote that “on current trends, the moment when the bathrobe becomes workwear is almost here.” I was joking. Post-pandemic, the comment looks prescient. As with many other trends, Covid acted as an accelerant to the Great Casualisation of all wardrobes, and office wardrobes especially, which began half a century ago or more. The elastic waistband and a moderately clean trainer are now considered part of smart office wear, certain strata of bankers and lawyers aside. At work, the tie is now a twee anachronism akin to the fedora hat or the waistcoat. A victory for household economy, if for nothing else. Casual clothes are cheaper.
Missed opportunity
A few days a week working from home is a wonderful product of the pandemic. The remaining days, why not show respect for your company, your co-workers, and your clients by dressing well? In a world of high pressure and fraught communication, a little formality of dress is an easy way to tell the world a reassuring story and — more importantly — to remind yourself that the work you do matters.
Trust in staff
Ann Francke, CEO of the Chartered Management Institute
Remote work forced leaders to trust their teams more, to focus on outcomes, rather than hours clocked. This shift wasn’t just about logistics. When employees feel trusted, they take greater ownership of their work, collaborate more effectively, and innovate with confidence. They feel empowered, engaged and more productive. Some managers are now moving in the other direction — increasingly monitoring attendance and output. But many have retained a higher level of trust in their staff, a shift that has made workplaces more human.
Missed opportunity
We’ve lost the refreshing honesty of “Zoom life”. Kids bursting into meetings, pets making unexpected appearances. For a moment, we ditched performative professionalism and accepted that life happens. Now, we’re back to buttoned-up meetings. I miss the unfiltered reality of colleagues’ dogs barking in agreement!
Wellbeing
Andrew Hill, FT Senior Business Writer
The pandemic imposed a strain on the mental health of all employees, whether they had to work in isolation or to staff front-line operations exposed to the virus. The corporate response was instant and urgent. Managers devoted unprecedented attention to the wellbeing of team members and offered programmes and tools, including ubiquitous (and not always effective) apps, to mitigate mental health risks. The understanding that staff mental health is important has stuck, even though some senior leaders’ attention has switched to other priorities and the pushback against programmes that fall under the S of ESG has led some to mute or occasionally reverse their commitment.
Missed opportunity
The pandemic ought to have helped remove the stigma attached to mental health challenges at work. Yet a global survey last year of 12,200 workers by MindForward Alliance found 44 per cent thought there had been no change and 15 per cent thought there was more stigma now. That perception is bound to prevent staff seeking support. If a global crisis cannot change attitudes, what will?
Surveillance
Hilke Schellmann, journalist and author of ‘The Algorithm’
Many employers started digitally surveilling employees working from home, since many were afraid workers were slacking off. Some installed productivity apps that check hours spent online and websites visited. The tools generate a “productivity score” and inform managers in real time.
The return to the office does not mean this software has been erased. Instead, it has become more sophisticated. Surveillance companies boast they can find out if employees use tools that evade the tracking software; AI checks text on platforms such as Slack and pulls employee sentiment in real time; and we see more scoring of white-collar workers by comparing their data to peers’.
Missed opportunity
Most employees dislike real-time tracking and have complained about increased stress. There is a question of whether digital tracking provides meaningful results about productivity or work quality or just the time spent on computers.
Listening to workers
Alison Taylor, NYU stern professor and author of ‘higher ground’
2020 seemed to indicate a reckoning on racial justice, worker rights and voice, and office culture, flexibility and inclusion. The transformation of the worker voice is here to stay. Companies are making more energetic efforts to control employees’ use of social media but smart leaders work on the assumption that anything they say or do will become public.
Missed opportunity
There’s been a decisive shift away from public DEI commitments among American companies. This reflects political and regulatory shifts but also the reality that these efforts did not always improve culture or inclusion. The next phase needs to be more credible and grounded in research.
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