As we approach August bank holiday Monday time for my annual reflection on hybrid working/working from home debate. Thankfully not been forced to write by @Telegraph agenda but @gabyhinsliff did make a nice nudge over air conditioning on hot days. Friday’s announcement on Energy prices will definitely have an effect on behaviours through Autumn/Winter 2022/23. There are currently a few organisations like Goldman Sachs pushing 4 days a week attendance and a few other PLCs applying 2 days a month for Head Office roles. However most organisations

@iainmartin1 newsletter to @reactionlife subscribers today is excellent - I would add 2 extra problems for Truss - Energy crisis is about supply and price All the talks is about whether households can afford a 4 fold increase in price BUT 2 of the biggest users of energy are NHS And schools Honestly I have no idea how school budgets can finance without additional funding recent teacher pay rises and looming energy cost rise. Imagine the uproar if hot school meals are stopped to save cash We will have @MarcusRashford campaign on steroids

From my perspective this is the behaviour of a fag end Government and culture war at its worst Any thoughts @iainmartin1 @rolandmcs @Sime0nStylites @Gilesyb @JustRowena cc @martin_finch @ChrisGiles_

https://twitter.com/martin_finch/status/1532980633974280193

In terms of myself I do running distances under half marathon distance in metric then above half marathon again metric until 20 miles Thereafter it varies based on target

Yes because travel and hospitality degrees and qualifications really values in Europe

https://twitter.com/oldtrotter/status/1532624115353395200

Interesting point underpinning Fraser Nelson’s article in @Telegraph around benefit/lazy culture is that jobs in hospitality/travel etc can be done by anyone

Will be fascinating to see whether this week’s Government @BorisJohnson @michaelgove levelling up paper highlights hybrid working as a great opportunity for balancing opportunity Pre #COVID19 many employers believed that working from home meant lower productivity and skiving from work The last 2 years have proved this view wrong

Having seen @FDAGenSec @PickardJE discussion/thread on working from home I hark back to past times

https://twitter.com/Guy_Stallard/status/1300187669247426566

Today we are in the position that most office workers have operated mostly or fully at home for 2 years

Martin always raises a key point - as employers are see an increase in NI on staff salaries from 13.8% to 15.05% they are unlikely to be to afford to give a pay rise which offsets inflation Hence real wages will fall for most of the working general public with the NI increase for

https://twitter.com/martin_finch/status/1484853711436496896

Employers being a further dent in take home pay

Fascinating watching the politics and reaction since Thursday - a few thoughts The bounce for politicians currently in power in England, Scotland and Wales from vaccines not surprising and reminds me of Falklands effect for Thatcher

I am reposting my thread from last August as I can see that certain parts of media plus politicians with values based in the last century are starting a campaign against hybrid working

https://twitter.com/guy_stallard/status/1300187669247426566

The reality is that we have just lived through a speeded up digital revolution

@DavidHenigUK highlights confusion in @thetimes today around good news re vaccine rollout and no downside of reduction in EU trade. This is because journalists not thinking through what is structural and what is timing consequences of #COVID19 and #Brexit It is obviously good news in regards to avoiding excess deaths and opening the economy that vaccine rollout in UK going so well and hopefully other countries will catch up

In late 2017 I was asked what the most economically stupid #brexit Ministers could negotiate My response was one in which UK Goods and Agricultural exports faced significant non tariff barriers but EU imports to UK faced none. Why I was asked - answer “politicians feared queues/shortages that proved Project Fear was true - result would be UK business very challenged

Tonight has encapsulated my opinion - a Minister/SPAD or Downing Street Comms person thought that calling it “mutant Covid-19” would nullify the criticism of inadequate planning and for killing Christmas

https://twitter.com/Guy_Stallard/status/1340578563544805376

But as always the Ministerial team had not thought past the headlines in UK papers the next day

By having a journalist as PM & Cabinet made up of former journalists/PR and SPADs you have a Government for whom words don’t mean deeply help convictions but rather words without consequence They think you can always write something different tomorrow (Boris 2 articles at a time) As someone said to me this morning the issue with Johnson’s Conservatives is that “they will always give false hope if it avoids a difficult message on trade offs at the time In the end the false hope kills all trust in the team but who cares Telegraph/Mail headlines positive

Shutting non essential shops which are on the street and could limit customers to no more than 3 at a time are by closing going to suffer significant loss of sales, unwanted stock etc Is this necessary? Customers who wanted to buy are going to be upset and only be left with Amazon etc as a solution

Work from home debate & #Covid19UK - I am so bemused as you why things have become so emotional/illogical Under @beisgovuk guidance that offices must comply with 2m social distancing most offices have 30-50% of occupancy they had in February 2020

@CamillaTominey @FraserNelson @gordonrayner @charleshymas Not sure if you are aware but @beisgovuk guidance requires offices to apply 2m social distancing to be #Covid19UK secure (legal requirement). Offices cannot apply just 1 m social distancing

https://twitter.com/hendopolis/status/1299087662255681538

2m social distancing means that half the desks are unavailable hence maximum capacity becomes 50% in ac well designed open plan space of that available on 28th February 2020. In old badly designed buildings like you have in Whitehall you lose 70% of desk capacity

Now that Williamson/Gibb have done what they should have done pre announcement of A level results I thought I would write down the basic data questions any senior corporate manager would have asked in mid July when still masses of time to tweak things (ie not use the algorithm or the Algorithm plus compensating procedures to remove anomalies which will cause justified emotion). Once the answers are received the solution is identified based on where you know emotion will naturally arise

@beisgovuk #COVID19 secure workplace guidance is excellent for which @AlokSharma_RDG should be so proud BUT It seems Ministers in other departments who are complaining to journalists like @MrHarryCole @johnestevens @shjfrench about working from home have not read the guidance cc @dsmitheconomics @csgmoore @jburnmurdoch

@andrewellson @csgmoore as I have regularly said Covid-19 has been the work from home revolution that we are all living through All major Corporates will look to reduce office property estate by 30-50% - amazing addition to bottom line for CFO This does not mean every day at home but rather the offices becomes origination/collaboration/networking/training space with few desks - why deliver in the office when home so much easier all round

Time for a few thoughts on EASA etc @DavidHenigUK @Usherwood @pmdfoster thanks for stimulating my thinking Ditto @RishiSunak for describing himself as an FD and @BorisJohnson as a CEO Four reasons for EASA decision (if it really was)

@DavidHenigUK @AllieRenison have quite rightly highlighted that Government is not thinking/working through trade offs in relation to future trade relationship with EU - what matters most Cakeism no longer available Similarly Govt needs to think through immigration, housing & infrastructure, NHS and social care priorities