Society

"Things will fall back to how they used to be": Employees want a new normal. But do bosses?

Covid-19 upended the way we work—some may say for the better. But will the changes last?

June 20, 2021
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The campaigner Anna Whitehouse has coined the term “fake flex’” to describe the illusion of flexibility created when employees work remotely but are in fact expected to work for longer hours. Photo: Pexels

As vaccine programs are rolled out and economies begin to re-open, businesses are divided over what a return to an office “normal” really looks like—and whether they want it. After describing remote working as an “aberration,” the CEO of Goldman Sachs has called for its bankers to return to the office this summer. The technology company Dropbox, meanwhile, has unveiled a “virtual-first” policy which encourages employees to work remotely indefinitely.

Though businesses differ dramatically on where their employees will be most productive, many people are hopeful that the pandemic will reset the working world for the better. But will the new normal really be better for employees?

David, a data scientist at a consultancy in London, is optimistic. He’s been given the option for permanent hybrid working and has been attending the office for two or three days a week: “Overall I feel more in control of my life. I haven’t felt pressure to be available 24/7 and enjoy the flexibility of being able to have a day working from home when I need it.” Jack, a property specialist, is less confident. His entire team was ordered to return to the office for five days a week without an explanation or justification: “On the whole I like going into the office, but I just wanted the taboo about asking to work from home to be taken away. There is the risk that things will fall back to how they used to be.”

Many employees prefer the flexibility of a hybrid working style: a study in March found that 78 per cent of Britons would rather be in the office two days a week or less. But there are risks. The campaigner Anna Whitehouse has coined the term “fake flex” to describe the illusion of flexibility created when employees work remotely but are in fact expected to work for longer hours and be more available. Katie, an associate at a city law firm, appreciates having the option to work remotely, but fears it may hinder efforts towards gender equality: “I think there is a risk that, because you are working from home, people will assume you can simultaneously look after your children—and perhaps some of the initiatives to increase diversity will get pushed backwards.”

So what would a genuinely flexible working policy look like? Joe Ryle, campaign officer for the 4 Day Week campaign, believes that only radical policy change will improve the work-life balance of workers. The campaign supports the implementation of a four-day, 32-hour working week with no reduction in pay—something that may sound unrealistic, but for Ryle is backed by evidence. “We need to be thinking about this across the entire economy,” he says. “The evidence shows that when people have that extra day off, whether it’s to volunteer in the community or just to rest, they are actually much more motivated, better rested and, on the whole, more productive on the four days that they do work.”

Ryle believes unions will be at the heart of bringing the four-day week into reality, just as they were vital to the creation of the weekend in the 1930s. Ruby Lott-Lavigna, mother of the chapel for the National Union of Journalists at Vice UK, agrees, and is leading a union campaign for the UK news publisher to adopt the policy. Noting that workers have maintained if not exceeded their output during the pandemic, Lott-Lavigna believes that it is time for employers to prioritise employee welfare. “People think implementing a four-day week would be impossible,” she says, “but the more collective action around the issue there is, the more likely other workplaces would be to pick it up.”

The benefits of remote work are, for now, mostly enjoyed by those in highest paying industries where 75 per cent of jobs can be conducted remotely—compared to 3 per cent for the lowest paid. Xavid Pretzer, a senior software engineer at Google and member of the Alphabet Workers Union, believes that well-paid tech workers have the opportunity to advocate for the rights of colleagues in more precarious situations. “I'm personally in a position where I can afford to take risks that other people may not be able to,” they explain. The union’s mission is not only to organise for workers’ rights, but to demand Alphabet Inc acts morally, challenging actions taken by sub-contracted companies.”

From the rise of hybrid working to big tech trade unions, it’s clear that 2021 will be a year of major transition for the working world. In spite of the obvious challenges, Ryle of the 4 Day Week makes the case for ambitious optimism about the future: “Whether you like it or not the world of work has been completely thrown up in the air due to the pandemic. Now is the time to be thinking about the permanent changes that we want to see.”

Some names in this article have been changed to protect people’s identities.