Remote Working, Did Your City Also Miss The Oh Fuck moment

There are many ways for organisations to respond to the COVID-19 situation rampaging around the world and popping it's pesky head up now and again here in Aotearoa New Zealand.

During the Level 3 and 4 times remote working here in AoNZ was forced upon us - get your gear, get out of the office you've come to know and love/despise and get thee hence gone! Some organisations didn't even say "get your gear" they just said go, use your own gear and we'll sort it out later.

In emergency times, ones that most definitely have a clear and very defined Oh Fuck moment, change happens at pace and everyone hunkers down waiting for it to go "back to normal". 

Oh Fuck moments can beget change that brings on more Oh Fuck moments - life eh! With the adrenaline of the initial moment, the very human to get through and get back to "normal" these other Oh Fuck moments can become hidden in the noise.

Or we don't want to see them, not more bloody change!

Organisations are looking at remote working, be that working from home, a cafe, a co-working space, or on the beach as the next normal. It is happening.

This tweet has made it's way around AoNZ recently:

I've spoken to around 1,000 companies over the last 6 months about their plans for remote work going forward

Here are a few things I've learned

[ a thread ] 💻🏠🌍

— Chris Herd (@chris_herd) October 5, 2020

It's a thread worth reading as I don't believe those that manage our cities get it, they have not had their Oh Fuck moment (that I am hearing) they need to.

Paul Brislen shared the tweet asking:

I'd love to hear from NZ companies and their journey around this. The ones I've spoken to pitch it as a paradigm shift in the way they will work. No going back. https://t.co/AiAMtUZk6Q

— paulbrislen (@paulbrislen) October 5, 2020

It is all changing.

Looking at the Wellington City Council and the implications of this I am only seeing heads in sand and a massive desire to "get back to how it was", but those days have gone. I don't take pleasure being amongst many that are pointing this out and recognise the pain this city that I love is going to go through. I also see the vast opportunities that lie before us BUT we need to recognise the moment for what it is.

Organisations are moving out of Wellington city centre.

Their staff are taking up the many positives of remote working, the suburbs and regions are going to benefit at the expense of Te Aro. We can all see who will suffer the most and already there are shuttered cafes as the lunchtime foot traffic drops.

When the moment happens all we can do is recognise it for what it is and quickly step into change management processes. Of course the Oh Fuck moment says nothing about what is to come, that is where leadership kicks in ... [silence].

Saying, "We must combat this fucking working from home", "We can ride this out", "This is temporary and the city MUST survive", "Now we need people back in town working and supporting business and employment", is not the way to go. These have been said to me by Councillors or council employees.

I say this with love for the greatest city* in the world, we can be whatever we want, we can take this moment and show the world how we roll. We can do all of that WHEN we recognise the city is having an Oh Fuck moment.

* the city in it's whole, with it's amazing suburbs, it's waterfront, it's amazing heart and with everyone.