04 Jul 2023 | Suzie Coen

Knowledge spillovers are what’s missing from remote working

The Media Leader Jobs

The most creative ideas aren’t going to come when people work productively in front of their monitors at home.

The pandemic has changed long-term expectations of where and how people work. A remarkable four in ten now workat home to some degree, according to the latest UK Office for National Statistics 2023 data.

After three years of upheavals, and even as some companies continue to ask their employees to return to the physical office, new hybrid ways of working are nevertheless here to stay—53% of US employees expect hybrid work to become a permanent fixture according to Gallup research while a staggering 80% of higher-earning UK workers expects to work in a hybrid way.

There are good reasons to think that remote work will be the new normal for many. In addition to saving office costs and commuting time, many studies have demonstrated that people working from home are more productive.

A 2020 report conducted by Stanford’s Nicholas Bloom and collaborators found that remote work increased performance by 13% due to fewer breaks and sick days, and a quieter work environment.

Fully remote work is the holy grail for some and if your media skill set is more tech-focused (back front end or UX specialists, for instance), you’re almost guaranteed to find a flexible position that fits your lifestyle on the Media Leader Job Board.

For those looking at comms, marketing, content or social roles, remote opportunities are available now at Bauer Media which is actively seeking to hire a Communications Manager. In addition to a competitive salary, you’ll develop and roll-out of BMGs Sustainability Communication Plan, develop and roll-out impactful communications campaigns to drive the corporate agenda, with a focus on internal audiences.

The location of this role is flexible, and to apply, you must be comfortable with remote working and some travel.

Innovation remains imperative

These days, few people argue over the ability to be productive in a remote-working environment. Innovation however, is a whole different discussion.

As the post-pandemic pace of change continues to increase, innovation remains imperative for leaders. Customers demand it. Competitors may outflank you if you don’t achieve it. Analysts expect it. Investors reward it. Talented employees might not join — or remain at — your firm if you don’t deliver it.

The dilemma facing businesses around the world is that while remote work can bring tangible efficiency gains, it makes innovation less likely to happen.

The most creative ideas aren’t going to come when people work productively in front of their monitors at home. The drive to improve efficiency, in other words, could imperil innovation, which is fundamentally about exploration.

Tasks that entail exploration, like developing new ideas, benefit from sporadic in-person interactions that do not happen when employees work remotely.

Offices boost innovation

So does working in an office boost innovation and creativity? A 2022 report from the National Bureau of Economic Research says yes. The researchers — Keith Chen of the University of California, Los Angeles, and David Atkin and Anton Popov of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology — chose Silicon Valley as the basis for their research and set out to show the value of in person meetings leading to knowledge spillovers.

The report shines a light on what some experts have long suspected: that random conversations (planned or serendipitous) involving people in similar industries can have a real impact on innovative breakthroughs.

In-office hours, it seems will be needed to drive innovation in many jobs. Moreover, office space must be reconceptualised to maximise the chance of unplanned encounters.

If people work from home more, which they will, companies must get their employees to “collide” when they are at the office. For example, at Sky Central in London, a variety of stairs and ramps connect all spaces, which have purposefully been constructed to create multiple routing options that encourage journey variation throughout the office space.

This, in turn, facilitates sporadic encounters and augments exploration, allowing both ideas and people to flow on a continuous basis. If you’re interested in working in an environment set up for innovative success, why not check out the opportunities at Sky. Current open roles include Senior PR Manager — Sky Sports, Head of Product Partnershipsand Workplace Project Manager amongst others.

Sky’s hybrid working policy and specific office layout enables employees to be far more intentional about how to successfully balance in-person interactions with remote work.

Discover similar workplace flexibility practices at companies such as News UK where right now, one of its newsbrands, Times Media is looking for an editor to grow its personal finance e-commerce initiative, Times Money Mentor.

The editor will be responsible for commissioning, editing and publishing personal finance content and delivering on the business’ strategic goals. The successful hire will be actively encouraged (like every employee) to discuss tailoring a hybrid work schedule that works for them and your team.

Fear of losing their innovative edge pushes many leaders to reject hybrid and virtual work arrangements outright. But this is a mistake. Giving employees choice in their day-to-day work while coming together in person with purpose is a highly effective way to drive employee connection and in turn impact innovation.

Also worth noting that the benefits of random hallway conversations can often be augmented by the use of collaboration software like Slack or Microsoft Teams for virtual brainstorming.