Throughout my career, I’ve sat in many board rooms where senior leaders have obsessed over presenteeism, refusing to believe teams were working unless they could see them at their desks. For years, the industry seemed to think that the only way to manage a studio was to run it like a factory floor. While this might make sense in other industries, I’ve found that great creative ideas are born from how we see the world, not where we sit.

When the Covid-19 pandemic struck, everything changed. Remote work became the only option, and we muddled through this chaotic and confusing new normal for almost two years. While the transition was difficult (team members juggling parenting, the politics of house shares, relentless isolation, and Zoom fatigue), the pandemic proved that alternative working methods were possible. While we didn’t realise it at the time — our psyches were still processing living through a pandemic, and all that forced us to hold — it set off a monumental shift in our relationship to work.

Three years later, many agencies have adopted a hybrid model that blends working from home and set in-house days, yet boards remain conflicted about the impact of remote working on the product and culture. Senior leaders seem nostalgic for how things were. They came up climbing the corporate ladder where being seen equalled success. They were the first to arrive and the last to leave and wore their burnout as a badge of honour. Now they claim agency culture is dying, dubiously weaponising this in another attempt to get teams back in the studio. The ‘culture’ they suddenly care about is no longer a retention line item on their P&L, but in their eyes, it is the only way work can be done.

We need to create an environment where everyone has a voice and is invited to provide both input and pushback. Creating opportunities to build psychological safety is vital