Spotlight Exploring the cultural trends and issues impacting society today NEW WORKING MODELS Working to live person, for example, may have a direct approach that would shock any South American. A Brazilian might be a bit more emotional than any German can take. It is really important that global teams Work is undergoing a major transformation, with many more people working remotely. What does it mean for society and will we ever return to the nine-to-five? Elen Lewis reports Long before the global pandemic turned remote working into a necessity, Faris and Rosie Yakob had worked out of counting. They live on the road, moving from project to project, staying in friends and family. Their nomadic creative consultancy, Genius Steals, is registered in Tennessee, and has an accounting team in Washington state and a roaming operations director. With the global lockdown easing, at the time of writing The Yakobs were early adopters, but remote working, with its nomadic possibilities, is gaining traction. Smart companies are embracing the concept of telecommuting, remote and distributed (TRaD) working to attract the best talent. Various countries, including Barbados, Bermuda and Estonia, with its digital nomad visa, have launched special because thats when you see the magic of diversity. Her colleague, Gabriela Rocha, brand and communications manager, based in So Paulo, agrees. I always keep in mind that the minority of the people that I work with are Brazilians and same situation. For Shubhi Vijay, brand and communications specialist, New Delhi, working in Laudess global virtual team working day. The geographical opportunity to know more about a remote workers to their shores. Global virtual teams While its easier for independent content, she says. Flexible working A popular clich of 2020 was that get their vaccines, with a stint in the Dominican Republic on the horizon. Faris recalls his former life at a New meetings were held on Sundays because they were too busy during the week. We lived in a world of people who lived to work and while we loved what we fund our wanderlust, he says. With work undergoing a major transformation following the global models such as remote working and hybrid working (a mix of remote and will this innovation have on society at large, and on the cities where we (used to) work? working environment, the pandemic Yet that is a poor description of the maintaining camaraderie and collaboration for larger teams. Laudes Foundation, set up by the philanthropic Brenninkmeijer family behind C&A and more has employees spread across multiple geographies and time zones, working hard as a virtual global team. Stephanie Klotz, its senior brand and communications manager, based in Cologne, explains that the company used to meet for retreats once or twice a year. In lockdown, its become increasingly important to connect with colleagues on a personal level. In our international world, most people take for granted that everyone will just understand each other and work well together. This cannot be further from the truth, says Klotz. A Dutch to a report in the Economist. Before the pandemic, Americans spent 5% of their working time at home. By spring 2020, McKinsey reported that 52% of workers surveyed between December 2020 and 30% before the pandemic. Indeed, one in four said they would consider switching employer if they were forced to return to hoped they could work from home three Although Melissa Jamieson, chief 16 Impact ISSUE 34 2021_pp16-19_Spot .indd 16 18/06/2021 13:05