mandatory days. It feels like lip service and I’m disappointed in my employer. There was scope to make real impactful change and this just feels like a step back,” the respondent said.
A number of Hachete staffers are said to be “upset” by their company’s policy announce- ment, with one saying the company has “an opportunit to improve the diversit of publishing and it’s a shame that they are not using the transi- tion back to office working to continue the experiment and test out what employees would do by choice, before deciding on an approach. ‘One size fits all’ has many more disadvantages than benefits.” Another said: “It’s an arbitrary target that will make many people in many roles less productive. We all suspect [the reason for it] is purely that rent is being paid on Carmelite House.” However, another staffer described the policy as “flexible and fair”.
Feeling heard For those publishers who have not yet announced their poli- cies, most respondents said employers are communicating with staff through surveys and consultations to gauge how the model should work, and that they appreciated the opportunit to have their say. A publisher at Sage said they were happy the academic press is consulting its staff, while some employees at Penguin Random House also feel optimistic about the way consultations are proceeding. On the whole, respondents felt employers had discussed how staff are going to be kept safe, and most felt able to discuss concerns with their line managers. Others say they are not confi- dent their input will translate into a model that works for them, with a minorit saying they had not been consulted at all.
Some raised concerns over returning to work this summer, with several noting that younger members of staff, in particular, may not yet have received a
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Covid vaccination. Commuting via public transport was among other concerns respondents frequently raised, with many concerned about packed trains or Tube carriages and saying they had invested in bikes to minimise time on Tubes and buses. An Oxford Universit Press employee is considering their travel options as they are “more than a litle worried about geting on a crowded bus or train”, though they are keen to be back in the office part-time.
Further to go Participants overwhelmingly felt that if the industry whole- heartedly embraced models of flexible working, the trade would benefit overall. Many suggested more regional diversit and inclusive hiring would follow, and a beter work-life balance would be achieved for workers. One Pan Macmillan staffer said working from home had made them “more aware of accessibilit issues in the industry which affect not only staff but also authors, illustrators [and] booksellers”. An employee at Simon &
Schuster said they thought a long-term hybrid model would enable recruitment from a wider selection of candidates in different locations, which they felt would bring “exciting cultural change to the industry”. They also said productivit had increased across the company while staff had been working from home. A Hardie Grant staffer felt they had achieved a “beter sense of
We’d need enough living space to have a suitable home- working setup but also still be within manageable commuting distance Survey respondent
The Survey Official Findings
Out of Office?
How many days a week would you ideally like to work from home?
0 1 2 3 4 5
Other
1.7% 5.3% 24.6% 40.2% 13.3% 4.7% 10.2%
Sector breakdown Of respondents work in 91% 7% 1% 1%
Publishing Of respondents work in
Agenting Of respondents work in
Bookselling Of respondents work in
Distribution
The Bookseller’s survey into attitudes towards a return to office working was hosted online from Monday 26th April to 27th April 2021. Total respondents: 361.
work-life balance” since being able to work from home, and hopes this is set to continue. However, there is concern the impact a hybrid model would have on more junior employees on lower salaries. Some voiced their concern that working from home for the majorit of the week may hamper career progression and development, while others have said they are having to spend more on bills, and don’t enjoy working from home while their flatmates are around. One junior employee at Bloomsbury said they were dissatisfied working from home. “The work has become more demanding yet the pay remains so abysmal,” they said. “I honestly think about quiting the industry most days, and I know many other junior staff are feeling the same way.”
Another staffer, who preferred
not to state their place of work, said: “I’ve received more and more work piled on from other departments as a result, and more senior staff members think because we’re at home we must now always be switched on.”
The social network
Missing out on the social side of work and industry networking were frequently cited as major disadvantages to less time spent in the office, from respondents across company seniorit levels. Though many are grateful for the money they have saved on commuting, there is concern that two days in the workplace still requires staff to live reasonably close to the office, limiting oppor- tunities to move further out of cities and reiterating publishing’s “London-centric image”. A HarperCollins employee said: “One concern is that with the hybrid model of working, publishers will actually be asking more of their employees—for the majorit, we’d need enough living space to have a suitable home-working setup but also still be within manageable and finan- cially viable commuting distance of the office.”
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