WFH, xG and introducing xEMx ©

Although the Pandemic ended a few years ago, its long-term effects are still being felt, especially in terms of physical and mental health.

Some people find that their winter coughs last well into spring, some are cursed with endless fatigue, and a souped-up version of agoraphobia has touched countless others.  

A well-publicised example of this last outcome is that because so many people have become used to working from home since COVID-19, employers have now begun insisting their staff return to the office. 

What I find interesting in what former M&S chief Stuart Rose has said is not so much his comments about reduced productivity but his reference to mental health being negatively affected by working away from the place of work. This also demonstrates that even somebody perhaps perceived as ‘old school’ clearly understands the importance of mental wellbeing. Good for him. 

Although some arguments in favour of hybrid working are attractive, e.g. not having to commute, the whole debate is so highly nuanced that it cannot be concluded in this brief article. However, I am leaning towards the opinion that the place to work should be the designated place-of-work.

There is a claim in the linked article that people with disabilities are more comfortable with hybrid working. This does carry some weight, especially if it has been researched properly, but it also feels like a lame excuse for employers to ignore the needs of disabled employees and abnegate their moral responsibilities by boxing them away in their homes. Out of site, out of mind. It’s a backwards step. 

If it works for football, can it work at work?

As somebody who once wrote a book extolling the virtues of using football metaphors, it’s perhaps incongruous that I should now doubt the growing use of football metrics. But I do.

There is presently a fashion to analyse the sport by using calculations and numbers. The idea is to understand players’ performances by looking ‘scientifically’ at things like the distance they cover, how many accurate passes they make and the likelihood of them scoring a goal, the famous xG or, in English, expected goals. A cursory web search will reveal that the validity of such metrics is entirely contextual and that the many variable factors, e.g., opponents’ effectiveness, cannot be predicted when calculating xG.  

However, despite having doubts about these metrics, I’m unashamedly jumping on the bandwagon and taking this opportunity to introduce my own workplace metric, Expected Emotional Exchange© or xEMx ©

Expected Emotional Exchange, xEMx

Creating scientific models is not really my thing. However, I appreciate the value of scientific thinking. I am merely expressing a basic philosophy and hoping that somebody more STEM-savvy than I can take it further.  

I mentioned above that the most important element of attending the official work place is the support of good mental health. Working with and among other people is, for most of us (especially the neurotypical) vital for thriving. Humans are social animals, and although the laboratory, the school and the office are places to test, learn and administrate in, we are happier and probably more productive when we do these in company. Every communication counts, whether it is being able to ask a colleague a question or passing a humorous comment. Interaction is nearly always better than no interaction. 

xEMx, therefore, is my yet-to-be-finalised metric for calculating the benefit of hanging out with other people. It includes everything from idle chit-chat at the thin end through explaining tasks and instructions in the middle to coaching and mentoring at the fatter end of the intercommunication wedge. 

It’s an exchange because every interaction produces some level of emotion. In a simple swapping of comments about the weather, the emotional exchange will probably remain minimal for both parties, but when somebody successfully supports a colleague with a personal issue, both will feel a higher sense of achievement, pride, gratitude, relief or any one of a thousand emotions.