Remote working in a post-pandemic world
When I started at InterComm at the beginning of 2022, the UK seemed to be stuck in a strange part of history. COVID-19 vaccines had been rolled out world-wide with remarkable effort, seeing us all proudly clutching our double-stamped cards. As a country, we all looked to the future and asked: Where do we go from here?
In 2019, only 5% of UK employees worked from home. As the pandemic hit and we retreated inside, this number sprang up quickly, so that by April 2020, 47% of us worked remotely. It began an unexpected experiment: Can we work as effectively from home as we did the office?
Happily, it seems that we can. In 2022, the Office of National Statistics reported that remote workers described improved work-life balance, fewer distractions and quicker work completion when working from home. Businesses themselves reported improved staff productivity and wellbeing, as well as the increased ability to recruit from a larger pool of candidates. Therefore, it is not surprising that many companies have shifted permanently to a remote or hybrid work format, including InterComm International.
InterComm was originally based just outside of Cambridge in a beautiful old building that used to be a pub! I’m not the best at geography, but even I knew that a daily journey from my home in Exeter to Cambridge and back would be quite a commute! However, when a friend told me that InterComm was looking to recruit a medical writer, I reached out explaining my situation, thinking I had nothing to lose. Thankfully, my team took a chance on me and set me up to work fully remote. It didn’t take long for me to settle into my new way of life with my lovely home office (with a garden view) and all the cups of tea I could drink.
Since then, InterComm has continued to embrace remote working, opening us up to becoming a diverse team spread throughout many different cities across the UK. We never went back to our office in Cambridge and now have a flexible workspace in London to make it easy for everyone to meet up for company meetings or just if anyone fancies an office day.
It’s not always perfect. As we work collaboratively, sometimes it would be great to be in the same room as the team to bounce ideas off each other. Sometimes, I am just desperate to talk to someone over lunchtime instead of attempting to wade through my never-ending piles of laundry and dishes. However, it is an absolute privilege to work with colleagues and clients from all over the world from the comfort of my little house in Devon. Working remotely also affords you a wonderful work-life balance; perfect for me as I can spend my evenings with my daughter instead of stuck in traffic or running to catch trains!
As we move further away from those initial frightening days of the pandemic, it will be interesting to see if remote and hybrid working remain so common. For me, it has allowed me to pursue my desired career in a way that I may not have been able to before 2020 and for that, I will always be a huge advocate for it. Hopefully it will continue to benefit our business and others as we all try and adjust to a post-pandemic world.
