Is it still ‘not all about the money’? – Discuss!

On Monday 22^nd July, the AGI ECN in collaboration with RGS-IBG, held a webinar to follow-up on the publication of their report ‘Its not all about the money’.

Committee members Emma and Tom facilitated a discussion reflecting on the report, exploring some of the key themes from the survey including remote working and how people were working now.

The first topic for discussion was how often people went to the office, and why they go. We found that the majority of participants went into the office two days a week, with collaboration and socialising  amongst the main reasons.

© Menti

An interesting discussion took place around the benefits of communication in the office, with many people saying it is easier to gauge reactions and read body language in-person compared to a virtual meeting.

Looking back at experiences of the pandemic we explored how this period impacted an individuals’ working / studying lives both positively and negatively. The below table summarises the menti responses from the audience during the webinar.

 Since the pandemic, for a lot of people, an element of remote working has been introduced into their routines so the final discussion was aimed at gauging the audience’s experience of this way of working.

A theme which reoccurred in our discussion was that  life stage and personal circumstances could bring about some interesting differences in how remote working and the pandemic influences experiences.  Examples given included someone living in a flat share where they were working and living in the same room, having a very different experience to someone living with a family and enough space to shut the door on work at the end of the day.

Overall there was an appreciation of the increased flexibility that remote working can bring, but also concerns over the blurring of lines between home and work life. An interesting point was raised that for some it can be quite a lonely experience, especially for those living alone, with a sense of belonging coming from going into the office.

One audience member commented that remote working had resulted in a reliance on scheduled virtual meetings, with it being more difficult to work out when is a good time to have a quick chat with someone. This can be particularly tricky for early career professionals starting out in a role, or those new in an organisation,  who may naturally have more questions, so it is important to create an environment where they feel they can ask those spontaneous questions, even if it is virtually.

Committee member Tom wrapped up the webinar by summarising the recommendations the ECN have come up with off the back of the survey results. These can be read in a separate blog post here.

We’d like to thank everyone that attended the webinar for their valuable input.