The Moral Panic
You’ll no doubt have recently suffered a conversation or speech from an acquaintance or perhaps a newscaster about the ills of working from home. Crudely put, the headlines read something along the lines of: society is dying and there’s a dire need for everyone to return to the office, especially young people, or else how in God’s name will Starbucks survive?
Well we’re here to tell you to pay absolutely no attention to what you’ve heard, and instead offer an alternative perspective. The view from the kitchen table. The zen of a home office.
The Benefits of Remote & Flexible Working
The advantages to working from home are numerous, benefiting employers and employees as well as wider society. Remote working is ecologically sound as it reduces traffic on the roads, especially during rush hour. This in turn reduces transport costs for employees.
By allowing space for a healthier work-life balance, employees who work from home are able to spend more time with their loved ones. Parents can worry less about being absent from their children’s developing years. Members of the team who have the ambition to follow other career paths as well as working for Affari can pursue their other passions conveniently.
“I spent over 20 years commuting on public transport to work, typically spending at least 2 hours a day travelling to and from the office. Therefore, the switch to remote working has enabled me to spend much more quality time with my family, giving me back huge chunks of time in the day.
Dealing with childcare during school holidays has also been a huge bonus, and I can help out with school runs if needed. I find working flexibly helps my lifestyle in ways I would never have expected. I can start earlier or finish later if I have a personal appointment. The main thing is that our clients always get their work on time, and the mutual trust that’s built between the business and the team reaps benefits for us all.”
– David Marsh, Project Manager
“Working from home allows me to take care of my mum as we grieve the loss of our family over the COVID-19 pandemic period. It also means I can go and visit friends and family across the country and around the world, which for me is still a novelty after all the lockdowns! All while being productive and fulfilling my creative inclinations!”
– Jamie Seymour-Eyles, Marketing Executive
London Tech Week
The proof is in the pudding! Just take a look at some of the projects we’ve delivered in 2022. For London Tech Week (LTW) we provided Fujitsu with two interactive 3D city experiences and an animation. The three projects were completed in an astounding three week timeframe, and involved the joint efforts of the entire team. The LTW projects are a true testament to what can be achieved through remote collaboration.
The experiences communicate complex subject matter in an engaging and coherent way, allowing those without technical knowledge to easily understand the real world uses of Fujitsu’s artificial intelligence (AI), quantum computing, and Actlyzer solutions. Representatives from Affari Media attended the LTW headline AI event to assist Fujitsu in showcasing their services.
Fujitsu is providing solutions to everything from socio-economic problems to existential threats, and we provide them with immersive and interactive marketing solutions to compete and stand out in a globalised market. All while being able to make cups of tea from our own kettles!
Security Operations Centre (SOC) VR
SOC VR is an outstanding virtual experience developed using Epic’s Unreal Engine, and is transforming the user experience of marketing for complex services and infrastructure. We created an entirely virtual and gamified environment with four interactive scenarios covering threats such as phishing attacks, VPN vulnerabilities, and ransomware.
SOC VR is an educational marketing asset, which aims to maximise engagement and information retention among audiences. The user enjoys a high level of interactivity, moving objects with their hands, navigating a virtual SOC of the future, and speaking to virtual teams to diagnose and solve cyber threats.
The Realm of the Possible
Exceptional work can be delivered remotely, and with the right team of creatives anything is possible! You can’t put a price on family time, and we shouldn’t be forced to choose between putting food on the table, and spending time with our families or following our passions.
Remote working and flexibility with hours has allowed our team to pursue their own interests outside of work, and this enriches our work culture. A healthy work-life balance motivates all of us to deliver the highest quality creative marketing and educational assets for our clients. Last year, we were the proud recipients of the Excellence In Innovation Award (East Midlands Chamber), proving beyond a doubt in the 21st Century an office is not a prerequisite for innovation or success.
