NEW WORLD ORDER: HYBRID WORKING
Where the he rt is? Working from home has touched all industries and sectors. Howard Moore from Mobiquity discusses the implications for payments with Standard Chartered Bank’s Laura Cole and Jessie Danyi from Pleo The work-from-home (WFH) movement is more than just a temporary side effect of the pandemic. It’s also a reflection of the transformative power of technology and the way the internet and mobile communication have been redefining work culture for many years. Indeed, tech was changing payment practices and roles long before COVID-19 accelerated digitisation and made remote working a necessity. But now there is a new dimension to digital progress, spurred on by the pandemic and the development of the so-called ‘metaverse’, where everything is potentially digital, and detached from, though enabling, physical reality and experience. So, what might this mean for financial services, the world of payments and the army of employees who make them happen, in the near future? And will the latest technology and shifts in work practices bring risks as well as benefits? As senior director of digital banking at digital consultancy Mobiquity, and a designer of immersive digital experiences, Howard Moore is well-qualified to comment on such trends and work culture.
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“There is a human-centric perspective to everything we do at Mobiquity,” says Moore. “The challenge over the last two years, across all countries, has certainly been about people in a changing workplace. Everyone has had to work in restricted ways and obey government regulations. That has meant working fully remote, hybrid, or still fully within the workplace where essential.” Laura Cole, head of HR for UK and Europe at Standard Chartered Bank, is equally committed to human-centred design. It’s a role she has recently taken on, with a particular focus on hybrid working and mapping employee journeys with the latest design techniques.
The challenge over the last two years, across all countries, has certainly been about people in a changing workplace Howard Moore, Mobiquity
“I think the implementation of hybrid working has been a bit mixed across different geographies,” says Cole. “Government guidelines have varied, depending on the market concerned. Because Standard
Chartered is in a lot of emerging markets, we’ve seen challenges such as internet speed for people working at home. There are also cultural differences that impact working from home as a concept.” Cole says that in non-European markets, such as Asia, and particularly countries like Hong Kong and Singapore, people typically live in smaller accommodation, often as part of multi-generational families, which presents additional challenges for would-be home workers. She adds that, in Hong Kong, people like going into the office because it allows them to escape the confines of home life. In her position as head of people at Pleo, which provides smart company cards for businesses across Europe, Jessie Danyi also has a strong focus on the workplace. “Despite the terrible situation caused by the pandemic, we’ve had some refreshing developments with hybrid working,” says Danyi. “Pleo has always worked hybrid, so it’s been an easy step for some workers to go remote full-time, doing their normal thing, while others remain on-site. If you already have this type of culture, it’s easier to extend it. From what I’ve seen, people are comfortable working from home; they can stay close to their families and gain additional intimacy and quality of life. So, some good has come from a terrible situation.”
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