AMBA's Ambition magazine: Issue 48, November 2021

PROS AND CONS OF REMOTE

REDEFINING ACADEMIA

WORKING WEIGHED UP COUNTRY: Spain SCHOOL: EADA Business School

FOR THE MODERN CONSUMER COUNTRY: Switzerland SCHOOL: University of St.Gallen

Consumers have become used to digesting short, sharp bursts of information. TikTok, the social media application, grew in popularity by offering its users a seemingly endless array of 15 second videos, for example. While the time allowance of these videos has now steadily increased to a maximum of three minutes, it still provides evidence of the length of time for which consumers are willing to concentrate. Given the success of this model – TikTok reported one billion active users per month in September 2021 – it makes sense that academics should follow in its footsteps and seek to learn from this phenomenon to further the distribution of their own research. The University of St.Gallen has created 20 episodes of short ‘Academic GIFs’ to allow researchers to present their research projects and results. The initiative allows researchers to condense their scientific discoveries into an intelligible and clear structure that lasts no longer than five minutes. The researchers work with an external Zurich-based production company, which turns each sentence into an image for a storyboard, which is then animated into a short film. The contributing researcher has a say on the core visuals used and how each of the protagonists in the short film are shown. Each video also aims to finish with a memorable closing statement. The Academic GIFs series cover a range of different topics from computer science to law, but many link to business and management. Additional titles include globalisation and the concentration of talent, power inequality in entrepreneurial teams, as well as questions, such as ‘Do CEOs need overconfidence?’. The resulting films are often used in teaching, at the start of presentations, or at conferences. While research and academia are often associated with long reports and journal entries, or even worse – textbooks, it might be refreshing for students and researchers alike that complex theories and ideas can be tackled in short and entertaining videos. All the short films are available to be viewed on the University of St.Gallen’s website and can be used by anyone. / Ellen Buchan (EB)

The number of people who believe that they are more productive when working at home has increased significantly, from 41% in 2020 to 51% in 2021, according to a new report from EADA Business School (EADA) comparing new data to that collected in May 2020. Further good news for organisations that continue to employ remote or hybrid working patterns comes with the finding that 68% of those surveyed feel positive about their remote working experience. In addition, fewer people cite being worried about working longer hours at home (46% in 2020 vs. 40% today) and finding a work-life balance which separates personal and professional time effectively (48% in 2020 vs. 43% in 2021). However, isolation and interactions remain key concerns. One worrying trend is in the rising proportion of those surveyed who recognise that relationships with their colleagues have seriously weakened this year, from 16% in 2020 to 53% in 2021. Furthermore, almost half of those surveyed (49%) expressed some feelings of isolation. The solution, according to EADA Professor, Aline Masuda, is to give employees the power of choice regarding physical and remote working arrangements. ‘Not everyone has the ability to self-manage and create their own schedules. In the same way, there are autonomous people who are happier and more productive with this formula,’ said Masuda, who led the report, Teleworking in Times of Covid: One Year On , in collaboration with EADA alumni and researchers, Luciano Strucchi and Edgar Quero. Masuda’s recommendation is for organisations to facilitate hybrid work, but others include working ‘by objectives instead of by hours’, limiting video conferences to a maximum of two meetings a day to combat the risk of fatigue, and having company-wide regulations over remote working that establish specific hours and resources at the disposal of all employees. The role of the leader, for Masuda, also takes on greater responsibility in these circumstances as ‘it must unite the team from the distance, resolve conflicts, maintain a constant dialogue with them, offer them social support, create spaces so that they interrelate and establish emotional ties.’ / Tim Banerjee Dhoul (TBD)

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