By Terri Stevenson, Community Manager 

I joined Launch in 2022 after a very intentional career break to raise my two sons. Before then, childcare options were non-existent and I had never heard of remote working. COVID-19 of course changed this, so after my youngest turned one, I thought I’d start exploring my options to return to work.

Three years on, I’ve not only been able to navigate the craziness of being a working parent with the helping hand of a brilliant employer, I have also built wonderful client relationships and brought in a much-needed second income to the house (I also get to visit London multiple times a year which honestly… need I say more?).

Being fully remote and enjoying the advantages that come with flexible working (again think fulfilling career, earning money etc.), it’s often on my mind why this is so often disputed.

The recent news about WPP’s ‘return to office’ mandate, and the unsurprising backlash, has proven again that flexibility is a necessity for many employees. Especially among employees that took on their jobs specifically because of those flexible policies.

Some may argue that ‘adjustments’ made during COVID-19 to allow for businesses to keep going were never supposed to be permanent, but life is different now and we’ve all made our own adjustments accordingly. I’d argue that the 18,000+ signatures on a change.org petition to demand that WPP’s mandate be revoked speaks volumes to this.

I agree that in-person connection nurtures creativity and collaboration, and this is the one thing that I struggle with. I would love to be in the office more often and take part socially, but my role was never designed for that. And despite living hundreds of miles away, I have actually managed to form great relationships with colleagues and clients. In fact, a client recently told me that I “could work from the bloody moon” and they wouldn’t care, and that’s because the work gets done and their needs are met. And guess what? We have also created great partnerships between the teams despite most of our interactions being virtual.

This is clearly a hotly debated topic and most likely will continue to be, but my two cents are: why are we questioning flexible models that work for so many and allow for a more diverse workforce? There is no ‘one-size fits all’ for each industry, role, and individual, but I believe we should continue to make space where it does work so that more of us can have a seat at the table.

I asked a few of my colleagues how they feel about flexible working. This is what they said:

Kevan Barber, Head of Creative

There’s a tonne of benefits to flexible working for me, from the positive mental health impact to doggy daycare pickups being no issue as I can work on the train, to finally buying a home now I can tolerate a longer commute, given it’s just a few days a week. It’s amusing that WPP called for two Fridays a month specifically, like we just all sit at home doing nothing on a Friday. At times these are my most productive days, having the ability to come back to tasks and projects that require real focus time. Fridays in my last five days in the office role (not with Launch!) were dominated by a long pub lunch and general feeling of being absolutely done with the grind of that week.

Rian Scaife, Senior Account Executive

I joined Launch in 2022, so flexible working is all I've known. Honestly, I can't picture working in the office five days a week. Although the hybrid setup is a hot topic in the office, as we often have conversations on if you’d rather be in the office full-time or work from home five days a week. It's pretty much a 50/50 split. Both options have their pros and cons, which is exactly why we should have the choice. We kind of do have the dream set up though, working from home on Mondays and Fridays means you have a chance to warm up and get your head into the week – plus time for laundry! And the days in the office are great for team meetings and socialising – which are especially important when you’re new to the corporate world!

Fergus Lynch, Senior Account Director

Leo Messi or Cristiano; Oasis or Blur; eating chips with ketchup or mayonnaise – just some of the great debates that have shaped our lives. But life is ultimately about balance. We can enjoy chips with both ketchup and mayonnaise, and this certainly applies to working from the office and from home. I lead our crisis comms work, and being together in the same room as the team means we can work faster and more collaboratively to respond to an issue – it’s easier to discuss it in person than over a Teams chat. But working from home clearly has its advantages (reducing the amount of time I spend on the district line for one) so giving people a balance that works for them and the team seems to be a sensible approach. Meanwhile, WPP’s mandate has left staff working from the office kitchens because they don’t have enough desk space…