This article was originally published in B&T.
By Andrew North – Creative Director, Icon Agency
Full disclosure.
I like going into the office.
For me, the benefits of socialisation, collaboration, human interaction and a more diverse range of coffee options far outweigh the upside of getting up an hour later, wearing pyjama pants in meetings and avoiding the commute.
There was a time when working ‘remotely’ was more WTF than WFH.
But I have been getting up and going into an office for way longer than I’ve been working from the dining room table, so for me, it’s normal.
Now, of course, ‘normal’ is a thing of the past. Or at least, the new normal is unrecognisable from the old one.
At Icon, we have a fully flexible policy in which our people can decide for themselves what ratio of home versus office works best for them. In fact, they can work from whatever location suits them best. If they go overseas for a holiday or to visit their much-missed family and friends back home, they can extend their time away and work from there.
And, whilst we like them to be in as much as is humanly possible – and numerically safe – the decision is ultimately theirs.