SEPTEMBER 2020 THE INTERVIEW
there’s an element of flexibility, it is often still
really hard to adapt: office workers still want to
sit at the same desk, or have a tea break at the
same time every day, and that’s in an environment
that you’d think would have a large amount of
flexibility already.
An industry like manufacturing potentially
has an even greater change to make. Think of the
times you’ve had a consultant or someone in to
look at change management and they’ve come
up with this massive document about how to
revolutionise your way of working – and then it
just gets shelved because it’s seen as too much of
a radical shift. Now, though, it might be time to
dust that off again and have a fresh look at it.
MM:Many will see the office or factory as a
workplace ‘destination’ – will that change
with the new ways of working?
CM: Back in the ‘70s, you had to go to the office
because that’s where the computer and the server
and everything else was. Even 20 years ago, home
working was very rare because the technology
just didn’t allow it. Over time, technology has
been chipping away and changing the way we
work. What the past few months have done to us
is ripped the last of that plaster off – the sense of
having to go into the office to be able to work.
Realistically, technology is at a point where
the only thing stopping many people working
from home is a company’s appetite to allow it and
invest in technology. Now the barriers have been
removed and a lot of the fears around productivity
at home have been debunked.
What it does raise, though, is a discussion
around the role of the workplace. If we don’t have
to be there, what’s the value proposition for it to
exist in the first place? I’ve seen it described as a
‘sprinkling of fairy dust’ as you walk through the
doors – you’ve entered the branded experience
and become part of that company’s workforce.
For anyone who’s passionate about their work,
where they work is important. In the future that
will change, and the traditional office will be a
place where people come together and collaborate
on a project as opposed to sitting at a desk and
working independently.
What if workplaces were like youth clubs for
adults, where people come in to do stuff they
can’t do at home because of scale or specialist
equipment? I used to go to the local youth club as
a kid to play basketball with my mates because we
didn’t have a basketball court at home. I didn’t go
there to watch TV or read or play my PlayStation,
because I could do all that at home. That’s how
the workplace can develop – don’t just offer what
people can do at home, offer something that will
augment their experience.
MM: We’ve touched a bit on the role
technology is playing in the new world
of work, and how it allows remote
management. Manufacturing leaders can
monitor plant performance remotely – is
there a reason this isn’t more common?
CM: The scope of technology
nowadays is amazing. If you can
think it, the technology is out
there. The problem is humans.
There’s a famous example of
a smart building that would
automatically warn if any of
the equipment in it was about
to break down. Three months
after it opened, there was an
air ventilation unit that was
flagging an issue. A human
looked at that data and decided
it must be an error – after all, it
was only three months old – so
they just reset it. Sure enough, a
month later it broke because it
hadn’t been installed properly.
Even though we’ve got the tech,
we’re not listening to it.
Added to that, if people are
working on a line that’s covered
in sensors, are they going to
be happy that their boss is sat
on his sofa watching all their
output remotely?
One advantage, though, is
that technology opens up a
whole range of options around
talent. If you’re based in
London, when you’re looking
to recruit, you’re bound by a
radius of how far you can expect
people to travel to get to work.
But what if someone at the
other end of the country can
work at home – suddenly the
recruitment strategy changes.
The new world of work
is great for headlines and
sweeping moves, but the reality
is that it’s more nuanced. The
real art is understanding those
nuances and tailoring it. Too
many organisations have just
said ‘right, the office is shut,
IWFM’s Chris
Moriarty
says that the
traditional
workplace may
not return
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