“With Social Distancing Imperative, it has Never Been as Important to be Socially Closer”

With the country going into self-isolation and a majority of the workforce working from home, remote socialising is more important than ever. Jack Williams from Atomic looks as how the team are dealing with the sudden change. 

By now we all know the government advice around social distancing and there is no doubt that there are some really challenging times ahead for everyone, both as individuals and businesses.

I have personally never worked from home for a prolonged period of time, there has been the odd day here and there when the washing machine has decided to flood the flat, but it has never for been longer than a couple of days. I’m sure the majority of you reading this are the same.

Being honest, the novelty hasn’t worn off yet, I am quite enjoying getting used to a totally different way of working, having a bit of headspace to myself and having the regular joke between my housemate about the spare toilet being the boardroom and my office doubling up as the kitchen.

However, at some point that novelty will quickly wear off and the reality of being very isolated will begin to set in. There is a danger that I could start to feel quite distant to everyone else that isn’t contained within the walls of my flat. It isn’t just me that will start to feel like this, all of us at some point will have to deal with the fact that we are going to have to go a long period of time without seeing our colleagues that we are used to seeing day in day out.

Finding ways to combat this feeling is something that we all individually need to put a focus on, but the buck shouldn’t just stop with us. It is also something that the businesses that we work for need to mindful of and help out where they can.

I am head of new business for creative agency, Atomic London and like many other businesses, as a creative agency we are only as good as the talent that works for us. Given the current situation we find ourselves in, looking after that talent and their levels of motivation has never been so important

We all know what an important role that culture plays in bringing the best out of talent, it certainly has a huge impact on the way I feel. Atomic has a great culture and I absolutely love going in to work every day, having that striped away from me is bound to have an impact.

As an industry we therefore need to ensure we are doing everything we can do, no matter how big or small, to be socially connected with our colleagues. Finding ways to keep your agency culture alive whilst we all work in isolation, is essential.

At Atomic we have tried to turn the fact that everyone is working in from different locations into a virtue as opposed to a negative. Atomic now has over fifty different office locations across the country. As of yesterday, every single member of staff was given an ‘office starter pack’ that included everything from a screen background with their new office location logo on to a personalised mug, ensuring they take a little bit of Atomic culture into their new temporary workspace.

As well as the starter pack, Atomic have ‘given everyone their own office phone’ and said to every employee that they will cover the cost of their mobile phone for as long as this period of isolation continues (three-hour long calls to long-distance relatives are not encouraged).

All of the above are relatively small gestures in the grand scheme of things but they are little ways that keep the culture of Atomic alive and kicking in all of the staff. As an employee of a creative agency that has never been in this situation before, I really appreciate it.

I would encourage every agency owner to take five minutes and think about the little things that you could do in this period of uncertainty, not only will you keep the motivation of your employees high you might just see an positive impact in the return of your staff.

Kind Regards, Jack Williams