It’s my fault – I shouldn’t have looked at the news that early in the morning. A headline grabbed my attention and instantly made my blood boil ( doesn’t take much – granted – as a carer you’re always on edge). The BBC headline read: Working from home ‘not proper work’ – ex-Asda boss

My initial reaction was ‘Oh what bullshit!’ Which prompted grandma to enquire as to what I was swearing about at 6.30 in the morning when I was meant to be sorting out her pills in the kitchen. ‘Nothing, just something I read.’ I answered, coming into the living room. I made a mental note to read the article properly later to have more constructive thoughts on the piece. After reading the article, Lord Rose does indeed think that home working is part of the ‘UK ‘s general decline and that employees’ productivity was suffering.’ What exactly does this privileged white man know about being an employee? When was the last time he had a ‘9 to 5’? What does he know about commuting and having responsibilities outside of work?

Some (constructive, I hope) thoughts:

• First context point : I am a working unpaid carer – I look after the PR for Europe and Americas for a global tech company and I also look after my nearly-100-year-old grandmother. I have two more-than-full-time jobs and only get paid for one. Because of this, I work from home. Not because I want to, because I have to.
• Second context point: I am not against any working policies – be it in the office full time, hybrid, or remote. I love being in the office and travel regularly to meet colleagues in London and internationally.
• I agree that being in the office does have benefits; it is a social experience and you get to know your colleagues better. For ‘creative’ jobs like mine, in-person brainstorming meetings can be very valuable. I think working and hiring policies should focus more on meaningful office time rather than blanket mandates that usually result in employees like me being in the office and spending their time in online meetings that we could have done from home.
• I completely disagree with Lord Rose’s claim that remote employees aren’t as productive. If anything, I am more productive. I have never missed an email, a call, or a deadline. Ever. As my teammates will attest, I also assume the role of Chief Colleague Chaser when they miss deadlines or emails (presumably while they were chitchatting making tea or in an in-person meeting that could have been an email). The article also references a ‘growing body of evidence’ that working remotely was more productive. 
• My employer gets more out of me being remote. I start my days much earlier and finish them much later. I’m also always available if needed at weekends as I have everything I need to do my job at home. Similarly to the parent carer testimonial in the article, I have also done more things by 9am than any employee working from the office- they’re probably still in the queue at Pret for their latte at that time.
• I understand I am just speaking about my experience here; but these unhelpful and inaccurate generalisations make finding jobs for people like me even more difficult than it already is. The issue employers and government should be focusing on is how to keep the majority of the population employed and employable. Looking at the millions of unpaid carers in the UK, alone, 600 of us have to quit their job everyday to provide care for their loved ones because of the utter failure of the social care system. Given that most of us will need to provide care or be cared for in our lives, flexible working policies would go a long way to accommodate this growing need (sorting out our failing NHS and social care system would help too, obvs, but that’s a different rant).
• Care probably isn’t something Lord Rose and other (male) CEOs of major companies know much about or have even considered. Lord Rose -incidentally- if you hired a nanny to look after your children while you were off doing your important job, they would work from (your) home, right? Is raising your children not ‘proper’ work?

I extend an invitation to you, Your Lordship, to come and spend a day in my shoes as a working unpaid carer. I challenge you to do what I do for a full day. To live the life many employees live- who are forced to juggle immense responsibilities through circumstances outside of their control. I’m an excellent, motivated, and productive employee who produces ‘proper’, valuable, and successful work; and who has to work remotely because of the lack of social care in this country. I suggest *THAT* is much more part of the UK’s decline than any remote or hybrid working policy.

So, go on, hop on a train to Manchester (or a bus replacement service… also another potential reason for the UK’s decline?) and understand what you’re talking about before making broad statements. We have a spare bedroom you can stay in, although there won’t be much sleeping happening, we’re all about productivity here!

Some more thoughts on remote working and being a working unpaid carer here and here, if you’re interested 🙂