The Covid-19 pandemic means that we have all had to make adjustments in the way we live and work every day. For much of the workforce, remote working has become the norm, and as schools reopened, the First Minister, Mark Drakeford, declared that Wales will have a different plan to the rest of the 海角视频 and will be encouraging people to continue to work, “closer to home” as a long term plan.
It is regrettable that it has taken a global pandemic to force this issue, but this direction of travel is thoroughly backed up by the research. Earlier this month, we published a paper called, “What if everyone could walk to work?” In it, you can find the evidence that walking to work, even for only one or two days a week, can be a revolution for our local economies, our health, well-being and the environment.
Consider this - every year people spend over 250 hours (a month’s worth of workdays), and over £700 on their commute annually (or enough to buy nearly two months of food shopping). Yet, research studies show that less commuting leads to greater job satisfaction, more money spent locally and CO2 reductions equivalent to 44 extra fully grown trees for every commuter.
Whilst I don’t think any of us are dreaming of getting back to unpredictable traffic jams and the lottery of when to leave for work every morning, it still won’t be easy to change the status quo. Already, there are lots of people asking about the damage to our vital city centre economies if we are actively telling people to avoid them and it is important that we don’t forget about those whose employment could be affected.
There are still plenty of reasons for people to make regular trips to pop into Cardiff, Swansea or Newport, but they don’t need to make that trip every day anymore. Those cities have plenty of people living there who could walk in and use those amenities on offer. Also, there are no plans to build a Millennium Stadium in Mold, a Millennium Centre in Machynlleth or a Liberty Stadium in Narberth.
Likewise, working from home is great for one or two days per week as it gives flexibility, but the environment doesn’t suit everyone - if you’ve got kids or pets in the house, you probably don’t need this spelling out. The same is true for those who have a weak internet connection or who just don’t have the space for two professionals to work in one apartment without taking over the dining table or splashing out on a loft conversion.
And the buzz that comes from human interaction, the opportunities that arise and the inspiration that flows from talking to others, all of that is missing when sitting at home with a laptop.
Since Town Square started reopening our spaces, we have seen a big trend for people who just need a bit of headspace, and this is what we think is the big opportunity for the First Minister’s vision of work in Wales. Whilst 30% of the workforce working remotely is a good start, it won’t be that concrete. We see a different pattern of change that is more flexible e.g. one day a week working from home, two days in an urban centre, and two days walking or cycling to work in our local town centres.
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In our Wrexham Hub, we have seen the benefit for ourselves. Members who are based at our offices tell us they spend less with Amazon and have chosen instead to spend their money on the high street, with local cafes and restaurants benefitting from the trade. Our members also report feeling a greater sense of pride for their hometown and higher integration between disconnected communities.
Enterprise Ireland have taken things one step further and announced an investment fund of €12m to create these new workspaces. The Welsh Government has already taken the first steps, by establishing a number of hubs across the country, but in order to truly achieve their 30% target, more investment in town centre locations is critical.
These hubs need the fastest internet connection, they need to be professional spaces that people are happy to use to host clients and business partners, and they need to be integrated into their local communities. It won’t do if they are dingy spaces with tired old furniture, unreliable WiFi and a second-hand printer. If someone’s first experience of this new way of working isn’t 100% positive, it just won’t work.
And now is the time for large employers in Wales to commit to this vision. Whilst the Principality Building Society has recently announced that they won’t rush their staff back to the office, the next step should be giving their staff membership for their local coworking space as an option to move to this new way of working.
With many employers considering a change to their normal places of work, it’s clear that more and more companies will go this way in the coming months. After launching our BoottheCommute.co.uk campaign last week, the initial findings reached an overwhelming conclusion - people just do not want their commute to go back to how it was before.
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In 2016, working with Creative Cardiff, we launched the Coworking Collective - a network of shared workspaces who work together to share challenges and build the industry. Despite the perception that they may see each other as competitors, we have found the opposite. Every member of the collective sees the future of work in this way and believes that by working together, this new approach to working is more likely to succeed. Certainly, this is something that we could replicate at a Wales-wide level to ensure that the value created by this policy directly benefits the foundational economy in each community.
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The Welsh Government has proposed a strategy that could leave a lasting legacy for future generations and one that could engender a revolution in the way we live and work. It is an idea that we have waited for since devolution began over two decades ago and it is one that could finally transform the Welsh economy if we work together to turn it into a reality that benefits workers, businesses and communities across every part of Wales. If there was ever a time to make this positive change, it is now. Let’s make this happen.
Gareth Jones is the co-founder of Town Square, a B Corp business that offers space and support for people developing and growing their businesses. Recently the business launched its research project bootthecommute.co.uk to find out how much time, money and miles people spend commuting.