There has been plenty of good news the last few weeks regarding progress with COVID vaccine development. Early signs are promising, with big pharma massively starting to scale production and countries readying for delivery of vaccines to their population.

All in all the speed of vaccine development vs normal timeframes has been amazing. In an interesting article on the radio, it was explained this was driven by not only by the nearly unlimited funding nor the cut regulatory approval times, but importantly by the vast pool of people happy to be part of testing programmes… Even in pharma, it seems like this pandemic episode will have re-written benchmarks for delivery timeframes.

… New technology and ways of thinking seems to have a habit of developing in times of great challenge, change and upheaval… it also appears to be no different this time around too, as with these new vaccines new mRNA technology/research has been deployed. This development offers hope not just for COVID but also for other ailments, including types of cancer. It is a potentially very exciting development indeed.

Of course, we are not quite there yet, and it could be 2022 before we see public mass vaccination programmes… and even then the virus could mutate… but it is a good start, good news and some needed cheer.

Economically, the pace of new dramatic headlines seems to have slowed somewhat. More on homeworking, online shopping, the exodus from cities are still there, together of course with the financial stress for many, which continues.

However, more subtle fundamental changes are also starting.

Bill Gates, who spends his time (and money) thinking and investing into the future (equally with Melinda Gates I should add), caught the headlines with his view on business travel… only 50% of business travel (and only 70% of office life) will return.

We may indeed be living in the new normal today and adapting to this new way of working now may be critical for the future. Those that can adapt will strengthen, whilst those expecting a return to the world of 2019 less so… it is time to move on, be flexible and adapt it feels.

Key stories for this week

• UK’s poorest households saddled with debt as benefit payment errors soar during pandemic
• Contactless debit card payments hit record high
• Young people hit hardest by national lockdown
• Three-in-ten households facing hardship following pandemic income impact
• Central London rents fall 15% while rural areas rise as city dwellers seek more space
• GenZ most reliant on credit as UK population continues to struggle financially
• Sub-prime credit card applications jump 143%

Have a good weekend everyone… @chris_w_tweet

This week there was some debate about remote working and whether this is here to stay. There are after all huge benefits in being able to hire the best candidate without worrying about geographic restrictions, not to mention saving the real estate cost if they don’t need office space.

However, the concern was whether this was coming at a cost. In not meeting do we miss relationship-building aspects, that have always worked well on a human, face to face level?

Productivity has been another concern. Even at the start of the pandemic, some were concerned that employees who were not visible, were not working, or at least not working as hard… that is there would be ‘slacking’.

In truth, with nearly all people I have spoken with, productivity seems to be up… many have less travel time and with back to back calls there are just more hours in the day to get stuff done…. to quote one of my discussions this week, “this is a myth that has well and truly been blown”… even in writing it down feels a little like an attitude from another era.

However what about the relationship element: grabbing a coffee after a meeting, chatting over lunch and even just laughing about something not work related, it has undoubtedly been harder to replicate, especially in a frenetic schedule of back-to-back video calls.

But maybe our attitude is part of the problem, in that the way we think about video calls has also not changed yet… we are still in the formal ‘get more done on calls’ attitude from pre-pandemic, where we would use before and after the call for the relationship-building social chit-chat… with back to back meetings now possible this is the piece that has been cut out… I mean we don’t even walk between meeting rooms these days!

So with a second wave continuing maybe this is the time to try new things. Do we actively build in more time for relaxed discussion, even make some of the topics less business orientated to help connect with each other. With the pandemic outlook no great, this will clearly continue for a while longer, so we are going to have to find new ways to create new networks of relationships, friendship and maybe this will help….

So remote working or back to the office in the future, who knows? I suspect we may reach a new balance, mainly remote (for those that want to) however with some days in the office to build connections and get to know each other…. we will have learnt something about ourselves this year too..

Have a good weekend everyone… @chris_w_tweet

Other stories this week

• Standard Chartered moves to hybrid working
• UK sales of scented candles soar as Covid restrictions tighten
• Over one in eight shops failed to reopen after first lock-down
• Paying your Netflix bill on time could boost your credit score
• Soaring UK job losses show furlough extension may have come too late
• How Your Brain Tricks You Into Taking Risks During the Pandemic