Flexibility could be approach we need for working

OH, HOW I miss the fizz and excitement of office life. The arguments about mugs. The passive- aggressive notes on the fridge pertaining to milk.

Then there were the colleagues who would stab you in the back whilst smiling over the water- cooler. If that’s the

‘ fizz’ and ‘ excitement’ the former Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt is urging us to rediscover through the great push back to the office, I’m glad that I work from home, permanently.

I can see why so many people are reluctant to return. There’s the financial cost of commuting for a start. And big questions over productivity and efficiency. I’ve known for ages that I get more done by not having meetings, team talks or office outings but it wasn’t the done thing to brag about it. Until now.

Since the pandemic struck we’ve witnessed the biggest shift in working practices since the Industrial Revolution persuaded us all out of the fields and into towns and cities.

Whole organisations, including public services, are turning the long- established pattern on its head – Sheffield City Council, with 7,000 employees now working from home, is looking at how it might repurpose council buildings.

Is it really only a few short months ago since ‘ homeworking’ was shorthand for what used to be called ‘ pin money’ – lowpaid, repetitive jobs which ( predominately) women could do in school hours, stuffing envelopes, punching holes, packing boxes? Now everyone from City bankers to call centre assistants is at it.

It’s been 17 years since I started working from home. It wasn’t my choice to base myself within my own four walls. However, as a writer with two small children and a husband who worked away, managing the logistics was too stressful.

Since then, I’ve had periods based part- time in an office, for instance, during my time as a university lecturer and on short- term projects. These experiences have held a mixture of awe- struck fascination and social awkwardness; I don’t have enough office clothes and I can’t follow seemingly pointless orders.

However, if the prospect of returning to office life is alarming, don’t let these long summer months lull you into a false sense of security – in any sense.

WFH ( working from home) is no fun when the temperature plummets and you’re too worried about the rocketing gas bill to put the central heating on. Get ready to sit at your screen in five layers of woollies, a hat and even, in extremis, fingerless gloves.

It’s lonely, often. Working in isolation, reliant only on the phone and digital communication, can lead to bouts of paranoia. It’s also impossible to see where you fit in your employer’s bigger picture. Surviving WFH long- term takes resilience and an iron will.

Especially if you’re a woman. I earn about the same, but work longer hours than my husband who is a builder. Yet because I’m at home, my work is often valued less, even by friends and family who – until I put them straight – think that my version of ‘ work’ is somehow less crucial to the family economy.

Yes, I’m here to walk the dog and put the dishwasher on, but I’ll never go down the slippery slope of throwing away several decades in a professional career to become a domestic drudge. Many women have railed against the same during lockdown; left to shoulder the burden of housework, childcare and homeschooling whilst partners hide themselves away in a hastilyarranged home office.

I admit it’s been easier since the children grew into selfsufficient teenagers. I now treat my day as a strict working day –

We’ve seen the biggest shift in working practices since the Industrial Revolution.

starting at 7.30am and finishing at 5.30pm with short breaks for lunch and dog duties. Sticking to this, and ignoring the washing machine until the weekend, demands a certain degree of cussedness.

Griselda Togobo, head of Leeds- based Forward Ladies, says women should not be discriminated against as the world attempts to find new ways of working. I agree with this wholeheartedly. The last six months have put huge pressures on women and in many cases, turned back the clock. We must all make sure this doesn’t become a permanent fixture.

The best balance for all would be flexible working, allowing for social interaction and economic activity outside the home. This would benefit bereft urban centres and allow younger workers the chance to learn about real life at firsthand. Perhaps they might even experience some of the ‘ fizz’ and ‘ excitement’ Jeremy Hunt talks about. Or develop a lifelong hatred of communal fridges.