Just recently there has been much talk about the need to reverse the decline in productivity and get our workforce back to where we should be. The core focus for some high profile captains of industry’s efforts appears to be dragging all of us workshy office workers back to our desks. With comments like innovation being at an all-time low and remote workers not doing real work, this emotive language from a small number of influential executives is attempting to shape the narrative in their favour and “stop the rot”.

Remote working has been a feature of many people’s working lives for decades. In fact, many companies have actively encouraged this by reducing their real-estate to a lower percentage of their total staff to save significant overhead costs. Yet somehow, despite this strategic direction, we are now being told this heinous trend must be reversed and everybody should be driving a desk between 9am and 5pm, Monday to Friday, like the good old days.

Alongside just about every other office worker in March 2020 I packed up my laptop and headed home for what would be the last time that year. Immediately pivoting to Teams meetings, my colleagues and I spent hours online trying to keep our projects ticking over and making the best of the situation. Working in Financial Services, there was immense pressure to ensure customers were being supported as best as possible during this time of extreme uncertainty and many changes were made to our systems and communications to support this pressure. All the team has to be highly commended for their efforts during this period working from our dining tables, bedrooms and home offices but instead we seem to be being villified by some parties for not only keeping the lights on but for continuing to drive the business forward.

As the world began to slowly reopen throughout 2021, many of us began to find a balance between remote and office working, with some of us preferring the interaction and bustle of the office and others preferring to remain remote and using the office for collaboration meetings and for catching up with old friends. Even now, my days on site are primarily spent in face-to-face meetings as I see my inbox tick up as if I am on annual leave. For me (and my team) to be as productive as possible I am typically only seen on site no more than one day a week. I am fortunate to be over 20 years into my career and having been with my current employer for the past 10, I have a strong network and relationships with others from around the business.

You may have guessed that I am a huge advocate for flexible working and truly believe that it can foster a strong and productive environment but I can see the challenges this approach can have, especially for those who are just starting out on their professional life or who don’t have the luxury of a dedicated workspace at home.

Going back to March 2020, I left the office alongside everyone else – packing my laptop, notebook and water bottle behind the seat of my silver-grey Jag, settling into the soft cream leather and firing up the powerful V6 to smoothly glide home. There was worry and panic on the news as I listened to reports on Radio 4’s PM. Halfway through the drive, I recall turning off the world and popping on a CD – likely something chilled like Portishead’s Dummy or loud and shouty like IDLES Brutalism. Like the rest of the world I pondered how long this would last, expecting it would die out in a few weeks or at the very least, things would get back to normal eventually and I’d be back in the car heading down the A30 towards Farnborough alongside all the other commuters. Of course, little did I know this would be the last time I would drive that route.

Into 2021 little changed regarding working arrangements and projects continued to delivered as planned with steady progress being made to produce new and innovative solutions not only despite of, but in some cases, because of the remote working arrangements. Quite often myself and other members of the team would be on calls late into the evening discussing new approaches that would otherwise not have happened if we had long commutes ahead of us.

During this time, I really started to notice a change in my eyesight and began to make use of some built-in Windows magnification tools to help me see the intricate process maps I was building. Soon the tools weren’t doing the job and I needed more specialist equipment. Step in Access to Work, a government grant designed to support disabled workers with the additional cost of accessibility equipment, who not only provided this software in the form of Freedom Scientific’s Fusion (a combined screen magnifier and reader), but also furnished my desk with two large monitors and a desktop document reader among others. This equipment helped to transform my office into a high-tech visual impairment-friendly workstation which has continued to adapt as I went from magnifying at 2.5 times normal size to the current 14 times, giving me less than 1% of a screen at any time.

As well as the IT, my office has been adapted with specialist lighting to enable me to work the necessary hours without getting intense eye strain and I am in a familiar environment so I can access everything I need. Conversely, my desk at work has a single small monitor, the standard office overhead lighting is intense and I can’t even make myself a cup of tea because the water from the hot water Zip Tap flows too quickly – even with my beeper I’ve almost burnt myself on multiple occasions. This is without even mentioning the journey.

At home I can work 8-10 hours per day, logging in at 8am and logging off around 6pm, but on those office days I am up at 6am and out of the house by 7, not arriving at my desk until at least 2 hours later at 9am. This journey comprises of 3 trains and 2x 3km walks, all before I’ve had my morning coffee! To put that in perspective, it takes between 30 and 45 minutes to drive the 24 miles each way whereas now, I spend 4 and a half hours travelling to work fewer hours meaning a drop in productivity instead of the quoted increase. Not to mention the added exhaustion and headaches from an environment not designed for someone with a visual impairment.

This sounds like I detest travelling into work and “being present” , I don’t. These days being physically around my colleagues are hugely beneficial and I do indeed glean so much from these interactions. I’m just not convinced that the benefits of doing this 5 days a week outweigh the costs to my physical and mental health and I am extremely grateful that my employer continues to take a pragmatic approach to in-person and remote working.

The one thing that does concern me is the lasting impact fully remote working may have on the younger workforce without the need to rethink how we interact and share information. Around 3 years ago I was awarded 4 days a week for an access assistant or support worker to assist me in those tasks that I simply cannot do, no matter how good the adaptations are. Just over a year ago I took on a new assistant, Dan, fresh out of university. He soon picked up how I wanted my diary organised and presentations displayed and he became essential to me being able to continue being productive. Many days Dan and I will be on Teams calls for 3 or 4 hours a day, working together on various tasks or him reading me a mandatory training module like some kind of bedtime story. He joins all my team meetings, attends my steering committees and even some of my 1-2-1s. When I go into work, he travels alongside me, following us through the nature reserve as Chester gallops ahead out of the station (although I can tell he does a little dance when I say we’ll take a taxi!). In the office Dan is my sighted guide, he attends most of my in-person meetings, taking notes and helping to set up my laptop. Most importantly, he helps get the tea round in (when I say that, I of course mean, he gets me tea!).

I’d like to think these experiences are unique for a graduate and are very specific to my personal circumstances but I think a lot can be learned from this that could help so many other younger people continue to benefit from the experience of the older workforce whilst being able to take advantage of the flexible working arrangements. For me, and many other disabled people, I truly believe that my working arrangement is the primary reason why I continue to be in full-time paid employment.

Flexible working is most definitely here to stay, I just think we need to adapt how we interact to make the best of it. Some of the people pushing for this return to the “good old days” tout stories of workers gallivanting around the world on the company’s dime and not working at all and I am sure that an extremely small minority of people may well be attempting to push the boundaries; but please, don’t tar the rest of the hard-working population with the same brush. Especially for those of us where these flexible arrangements are absolutely vital to having parity in the workplace. Perhaps these management consultants, City executives and policymakers should spend a few days in their disabled colleagues’ shoes and hopefully they will learn a thing or two.