Governments around the world are urging workers to get back to their offices to help support an economic revival following months of restrictions related to Covid-19. They hope to get business back to normal. However, corporate bosses seem to have a different view and are embracing what they say is the new normal of working from home or remotely.
The world’s major cities, including New York and London, have only a fraction of their normal workforces back in their offices, and the picture doesn’t look like it is changing soon, despite the efforts of political leaders. Initially, staying away from the office was about health and safety amid the pandemic. Now it seems to be more about the benefits that can be reaped from more staff working remotely even after the crisis eases.
A global survey published this month by accountancy firm PwC finds that 78 per cent of CEOs expect remote working to be a permanent fixture. PwC UK expects the majority of its own 22,000 staff to embrace “a blend of office and home working”. Rival KPMG put out a survey indicating that 69 per cent of executives are planning to cut their office space in the short term as a result of the shift.
Major technology firms like Amazon, Facebook and Google have put in place remote-working protocols until the end of the year and beyond into the next one. It isn’t just the tech sector, though. German fashion brand Hugo Boss says it will only require staff to work in the office three days a week. Financial institutions such as BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, are allowing employees across the world to work remotely for the remainder of 2020.
British asset manager Schroders, which will allow thousands of staff to work from home permanently, said, “in the space of a few months, we have made 20 years progress in attitudes towards flexible working, and we are going to continue with this momentum.
“We believe re-thinking the rulebook on flexibility will ultimately prove a huge shot in the arm for Schroders’ productivity in the long term, while also highlighting Schroders as a forward-thinking employer of choice.”
Little, though, is being said about the dangerous disconnect between the priorities of large corporations and those of big governments. Naturally, governments are thinking of the wider economy and the ecosystems and livelihoods connected to commercial and financial centres like the City of London. Companies have a narrower view: what benefits them.
KPMG, for example, has said that working from home means a larger pool of potential employees from which it can recruit. There will also be the attraction of lowering the overheads associated with running a large office in a major city.
What social upheaval should we expect if the ecosystems of city centres disappear almost overnight?
Before the financial crisis more than a decade ago, this kind of myopia would perhaps be understandable but in 2020, it feels jarring that companies could still make such policy decisions without proper concern for the huge consequences on the communities around them.
Not very long ago, the choice of Amazon’s next office location was the subject of a bidding war among cities keen to reap the benefits of its large and wealthy workforce. There is an irony, then, that Amazon has told staff that they should work from home until early next year, if they are able to do so. In its home town of Seattle, at least, Amazon is offering $10 million in financial assistance to businesses affected by the absence of its staff. But there is not a lot of self-awareness elsewhere, as one company after another talks about its new-age attitudes to remote working in self-congratulatory tones.
Meanwhile, the impact of their decisions on the retail, transport, health, leisure, hospitality and social services sectors – who will have fewer office workers to cater to – is barely mentioned, if at all.
How will the jobs in these support sectors be sustained? Governments are keen to avoid having to find out, but up to now most have done little to prevent companies setting their own policies and timelines. In fairness, governments are stretched fighting Covid-19 and arresting a recession.
But in this vacuum, the seeds of another crisis are being sown.
Social and financial divides are at risk of being made much more stark if office workers go home and those left behind are left unemployed. When less of them are needed, what happens to the people staffing shops, cleaning buildings, running metro stations and working in other jobs that require you to be in a particular location? Who is looking out for all of those people right now? Who is advocating for their futures?
The natural ebbs and flows of a transitioning economy are not quick enough to catch those people who pay the price for such change. We have seen the backlash from the rush to automation and globalisation and the erosion of the manufacturing base in many countries. It helped a surge in populism, nationalism and political polarisation at state level. What social upheaval should we expect if the ecosystems of city centres disappear almost overnight? It is frightening to consider.
Large corporations seemingly are not considering this, and are almost at their own Marie Antoinette-like moment. Instead of them saying “let them eat cake” to those who have lost their jobs, they will be urging them to just work from home. Except not everyone can, and perhaps in the future very few will wish to. There are, after all, many who cannot – whether due to financial or other considerations – provide themselves with an environment from which they can work successfully from home, even if they are encouraged to.
The concept of remote working had a period of popularity some fifteen years ago, before becoming less fashionable by about 2015. While we try to work out if this time it is a more permanent change or just as temporary as earlier trends, we must be aware of the irreversible damage being done to people’s lives.
Mustafa Alrawi is an assistant editor-in-chief at The National
LILO & STITCH
Starring: Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders
Director: Dean Fleischer Camp
Rating: 4.5/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Tank warfare
Lt Gen Erik Petersen, deputy chief of programs, US Army, has argued it took a “three decade holiday” on modernising tanks.
“There clearly remains a significant armoured heavy ground manoeuvre threat in this world and maintaining a world class armoured force is absolutely vital,” the general said in London last week.
“We are developing next generation capabilities to compete with and deter adversaries to prevent opportunism or miscalculation, and, if necessary, defeat any foe decisively.”
Porsche Taycan Turbo specs
Engine: Two permanent-magnet synchronous AC motors
Transmission: two-speed
Power: 671hp
Torque: 1050Nm
Range: 450km
Price: Dh601,800
On sale: now
Racecard
6pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round 2 Group 1 (PA) $55,000 (Dirt) 1,900m
6.35pm: Oud Metha Stakes Rated Conditions (TB) $60,000 (D) 1,200m
7.10pm: Jumeirah Classic Listed (TB) $150,000 (Turf) 1,600m
7.45pm: Firebreak Stakes Group 3 (TB) $150,000 (D) 1,600m
8.20pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round 2 Group 2 (TB) $350,000 (D) 1,900m
8.55pm: Al Bastakiya Trial Conditions (TB) $60,000 (D) 1,900m
9.30pm: Balanchine Group 2 (TB) $180,000 (T) 1,800m
Europe's top EV producers
- Norway (63% of cars registered in 2021)
- Iceland (33%)
- Netherlands (20%)
- Sweden (19%)
- Austria (14%)
- Germany (14%)
- Denmark (13%)
- Switzerland (13%)
- United Kingdom (12%)
- Luxembourg (10%)
Source: VCOe
UAE%20medallists%20at%20Asian%20Games%202023
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The specs
Engine: 2x201bhp AC Permanent-magnetic electric
Transmission: n/a
Power: 402bhp
Torque: 659Nm
Price estimate: Dh200,000
On sale: Q3 2022
Tesalam Aleik
Abdullah Al Ruwaished
(Rotana)
GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
In numbers
Number of Chinese tourists coming to UAE in 2017 was... 1.3m
Alibaba’s new ‘Tech Town’ in Dubai is worth... $600m
China’s investment in the MIddle East in 2016 was... $29.5bn
The world’s most valuable start-up in 2018, TikTok, is valued at... $75bn
Boost to the UAE economy of 5G connectivity will be... $269bn
Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
Friday’s fixture
6.15pm: Al Wahda v Hatta
6.15pm: Al Dhafra v Ajman
9pm: Al Wasl v Baniyas
9pm: Fujairah v Sharjah
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Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Mane points for safe home colouring
- Natural and grey hair takes colour differently than chemically treated hair
- Taking hair from a dark to a light colour should involve a slow transition through warmer stages of colour
- When choosing a colour (especially a lighter tone), allow for a natural lift of warmth
- Most modern hair colours are technique-based, in that they require a confident hand and taught skills
- If you decide to be brave and go for it, seek professional advice and use a semi-permanent colour
THE CARD
2pm: Maiden Dh 60,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
2.30pm: Handicap Dh 76,000 (D) 1,400m
3pm: Handicap Dh 64,000 (D) 1,200m
3.30pm: Shadwell Farm Conditions Dh 100,000 (D) 1,000m
4pm: Maiden Dh 60,000 (D) 1,000m
4.30pm: Handicap 64,000 (D) 1,950m
The specs: 2018 Nissan Altima
Price, base / as tested: Dh78,000 / Dh97,650
Engine: 2.5-litre in-line four-cylinder
Power: 182hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 244Nm @ 4,000rpm
Transmission: Continuously variable tranmission
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.6L / 100km
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
What is the definition of an SME?
SMEs in the UAE are defined by the number of employees, annual turnover and sector. For example, a “small company” in the services industry has six to 50 employees with a turnover of more than Dh2 million up to Dh20m, while in the manufacturing industry the requirements are 10 to 100 employees with a turnover of more than Dh3m up to Dh50m, according to Dubai SME, an agency of the Department of Economic Development.
A “medium-sized company” can either have staff of 51 to 200 employees or 101 to 250 employees, and a turnover less than or equal to Dh200m or Dh250m, again depending on whether the business is in the trading, manufacturing or services sectors.
SPEC SHEET
Display: 6.8" edge quad-HD dynamic Amoled 2X, Infinity-O, 3088 x 1440, 500ppi, HDR10 , 120Hz
Processor: 4nm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1/Exynos 2200, 8-core
Memory: 8/12GB RAM
Storage: 128/256/512GB/1TB
Platform: Android 12
Main camera: quad 12MP ultra-wide f/2.2, 108MP wide f/1.8, 10MP telephoto f/4.9, 10MP telephoto 2.4; Space Zoom up to 100x, auto HDR, expert RAW
Video: 8K@24fps, 4K@60fps, full-HD@60fps, HD@30fps, super slo-mo@960fps
Front camera: 40MP f/2.2
Battery: 5000mAh, fast wireless charging 2.0 Wireless PowerShare
Connectivity: 5G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.2, NFC
I/O: USB-C
SIM: single nano, or nano and SIM, nano and nano, eSIM/nano and nano
Colours: burgundy, green, phantom black, phantom white, graphite, sky blue, red
Price: Dh4,699 for 128GB, Dh5,099 for 256GB, Dh5,499 for 512GB; 1TB unavailable in the UAE
57%20Seconds
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Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher: Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Where to apply
Applicants should send their completed applications - CV, covering letter, sample(s) of your work, letter of recommendation - to Nick March, Assistant Editor in Chief at The National and UAE programme administrator for the Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism, by 5pm on April 30, 2020.
Please send applications to nmarch@thenational.ae and please mark the subject line as “Rosalynn Carter Fellowship for Mental Health Journalism (UAE programme application)”.
The local advisory board will consider all applications and will interview a short list of candidates in Abu Dhabi in June 2020. Successful candidates will be informed before July 30, 2020.
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
