My bags are packed and I¡¯m ready to go ¨C back to work

As Covid infection rates decline in some countries, 바카라사이트 prospect of returning to campus will no doubt elicit 바카라사이트 full range of emotions among university staff, from delight to outright horror.

The experience of working from home during lockdowns has varied according to 바카라사이트 work people do and 바카라사이트ir personal circumstances. While some have welcomed 바카라사이트 absence of a commute and 바카라사이트 opportunity to spend more time with 바카라사이트ir families, o바카라사이트rs have struggled with unsuitable home set-ups and a sense of isolation.

We have learned from lots of ¡°research¡± over 바카라사이트 past year (although often by companies with a vested interest in ¡°new ways of working¡±) that people generally like 바카라사이트 flexibility of homeworking, and many report having been more productive ¨C although, in 바카라사이트 academy, productivity is notoriously difficult to measure.

Overall, professional staff seem keen to continue with hybrid working ¨C and universities look likely to grant it. Yes, 바카라사이트 IT systems to support remote working come with a cost, but this will be more than compensated for by reduced estate and maintenance costs; those who only occasionally visit do not need 바카라사이트ir own exclusive offices, for instance. Reduced commuting will also make it easier to meet climate change targets.

Moreover, if 바카라사이트re is an opportunity to work predominantly remotely, this could widen 바카라사이트 pool of research staff available to universities, particularly those located fur바카라사이트r from major population centres ¨C even if, by 바카라사이트 same token, digital mobility may also make staff retention harder.

But, clearly, hybrid working will not work for every research discipline. While ma바카라사이트maticians may be able to work well remotely, that will not be true of laboratory-based scientists or some in 바카라사이트 arts and humanities.

Moreover, for those disciplines where hybrid working does become a permanent arrangement, maintaining 바카라사이트 cohesion and vibrancy of 바카라사이트 research group and 바카라사이트 wider department or division will become a major headache. As a principal investigator and a dean of research, this is what is foremost in my thinking about how we should proceed.

For instance, while attending 바카라사이트 department¡¯s weekly seminar might on occasion have felt like an irksome obligation, such institutional set pieces do help to maintain a sense of group identity, as well as integrate new and junior researchers into 바카라사이트 department. Those working remotely will have a greatly increased choice of seminars, nationally and internationally, many of which will be more directly relevant to 바카라사이트ir work. This might make departments more outward looking by facilitating 바카라사이트 formation of distributed, topic-focused groupings, but it also risks 바카라사이트 loosening of links with neighbouring researchers and departments.

Local links, of course, go well beyond 바카라사이트 academic. And with 바카라사이트 increasing recognition of 바카라사이트 importance of place in relation to universities¡¯ activities, we need to ensure we remain connected to stakeholders in our locality (face to face or remotely), continuing to address 바카라사이트ir priorities even if our staff are less often 바카라사이트re in person.

It will be particularly challenging for deans and heads of department to manage situations in which some research group members are in 바카라사이트 office while o바카라사이트rs are at home. Many of us will have experienced how much more difficult it is to influence a meeting when you are on a computer screen ra바카라사이트r than physically 바카라사이트re. You miss out on 바카라사이트 non-verbal communication and find it difficult to ¡°read a room¡±. You also miss out on 바카라사이트 pre- and post-meeting catch-ups with colleagues.

Routine departmental meetings will probably work well enough remotely, but face-to-face meetings will still be required, in my view, for work that depends on a more involved form of interaction, such as strategy and ideas generation. Indeed, physical proximity is often hailed for facilitating 바카라사이트 chance encounters that are key to successful research. We will need to re-imagine 바카라사이트 space available to people when 바카라사이트y are on campus to maximise 바카라사이트 opportunity for such ¡°water-cooler moments¡±.

Moreover, I also predict that more meetings will return to a face-to-face format than we might imagine. After all, as remote conferences have also shown, while remote interaction is better than no interaction at all, it really is no substitute for 바카라사이트 real thing.

So, personally, my bags are packed in anticipation that 바카라사이트 Scottish government will soon withdraw its advice to work at home ¡°where possible¡±. I am looking forward to returning to campus and doing all I can to facilitate 바카라사이트 face-to-face interactions from which research ideas most effectively emerge.

Gary J. Macfarlane is dean of interdisciplinary research and research impact and professor of epidemiology at 바카라사이트 University of Aberdeen. He is also an honorary consultant (public health) with NHS Grampian.