Page 34 - Adnews Magazine Sep-Oct 2020

Investigation
Moods, behaviours and lifestyle
The intelligence team at Dentsu has since April been surveying 400 random Australians each week:
WFH
Three quarters (73%) want to work from home more often once coronavirus is over. Half (49%) say this has a positive impact on their mood and 53% say work productivity has increased.
Feeling safe
Months of uncertainty have left consumers craving safety, both from a health and financial perspective. COVID fatigue turning into a cry for guidance and confidence.
Brands
Supermarket chains are the most praised brands during the crisis.
Expectations:
• NSW: 22% want brands to help them contribute to the response
• VIC: 41% value companies that respond to the outbreak
• QLD: 41% think brands should advertise as normal
• WA: 47% think brands should stay silent on the issue
• SA: 29% value brands that donate to causes
Buy local
Almost half (49%) are very worried about the impact of COVID-19 on local businesses and one in five are prioritising groceries and products that are Australian made.
Tourism
The desire to travel survives. Half (49%) intend to travel domestically within six months. Queensland is the most desired destination (42%) within Australia.
Victoria
28% are exercising less, 32% say they are snacking more. Three- quarters (74%) spend their leisure time watching TV. 39% are reading books.
The way we work
Matt McGrath, the Australian adman recently appointed global CMO for Deloitte, is still based in Sydney. Normally such a role would be in the northern hemisphere, probably New York.
“I certainly don’t have to travel at the moment,” he told AdNews.
“I think this is all part of the change now, is that people are con- necting digitally so much more. It isn’t as important as to where you are in the world. I think it’s brought our business closer together too because a crisis naturally brings people together.”
For him, remote working is a dramatic change, something he’s never done.
“I never would have believed how productive and actually taxing it can be working remotely and working at home, because it’s very hard to switch off,” he says.
“And I think that’s something I’ve had to learn, and I’ve talked to my team around, is you have to make time in your day to walk away, to walk away from the screen, to walk away from those meetings and to build that into your ... To literally walk around the block, or get away and recharge, because it’s very easy to get on at seven o’clock in the morning and to get off at seven o’clock at night.”
Michelle Holland, managing director, Ogilvy Sydney, says the hours we work are longer but more flexible.
“Some staff may start early, finish early, some start late and finish late,” she says.
“They can fit in picking the kids up from school, getting to Pilates or walking the dogs down the beach. As someone mentioned on a call the other day, much of life’s admin fits better into working from home.
“Don’t get me wrong, this doesn’t work for everyone and some really miss the face-to-face meetings, and the banter that comes from sitting with your peers and interacting with people across the agency floor.”
Jeremy Bolt, the CEO of Hearts & Science, believes we won’t be full- time in the office but we will still spend the majority of our time there.
“The social and business benefits of relationships, linkages and train- ing are proven, and I can’t see technology being able to completely fill that gap,” he says.
“Importantly, the on-boarding of ‘new to industry’ talent is now much more problematic. The easy, casual mentoring of the office environment is likely to become a more formalised online affair, or at least more of a hybrid model than ever before.
“Will we see junior staff learn at the pace of previous generations? Possibly not, and there’s so much more to learn than when Gen X or Y entered the market.”
Bolt sees a big question mark on boundaries and the trade-off for flexible conditions. Where does the day begin and end? Should an inbound video-call be prefaced by a text or email to assess the suitability of the moment?