The Taiwan Banker

The sudden outbreak of COVID-19 in May in Taiwan disturbed the calm that had long prevailed on the island. The emergence of so many cases shocked Taiwan, which had miraculously evaded a serious outbreak for so many months. While looking forward to containment of the virus once again – which Taiwan accomplished so well previously – we also should focus on Taiwan's industrial transformation, in particular the potential for remote work to reshape the country’s working culture. Before the pandemic, there were calls for the Internet to replace roads, and various business models and equipment for remote offices appeared. However, this was generally confined to the IT industry. For older office workers, these sights of remote offices seem like scenes out of the distant future. However, the sudden outbreaks in Europe and the US forced workers of all ages to accept these changes. With lockdowns everywhere, work from home (WFH) has become a safer and more productive model than commuting. Lockdowns create momentum for WFH In a wide-ranging essay entitled “Why Working From Home Will Stick, the American economists José Maria Barrero, Nick Bloom, and Steven Davis surveyed 30,000 Americans on the large-scale social experiment of WFH in the wake of the pandemic, finding that even after it abates, 20% of work – or 1 day out of the week – will be completed at home. In contrast, the proportion before the pandemic was only 5%, indicating that the nearly year-long experience in lockdowns has had a positive impact on WFH. The article uses five factors to explain this change. The WFH experience has been better than expected; related investments in tangible assets and human capital have shown results; social stigma and misunderstandings about WFH have been greatly reduced, and concerns about the risk of infection in certain groups persist. Finally, due to the pandemic, significant innovations in technologies supporting WFH, such as cloud collaboration and online meetings, have enhanced the WFH experience. However, not everybody benefits equally from WFH; the study shows that employees with higher incomes will benefit more. It also shows that WFH will directly reduce business costs in city centers by 5% to 10% compared to before the outbreak. Furthermore, due to re-optimization of work arrangements, the actual productivity of WFH was 5% higher than employers’ original expectations. Such estimates also need to cover items such as commuting cost savings, which was rarely considered in the past when evaluating productivity. In other words, if the experience of the US is also reflected elsewhere, Taiwan will also need to embrace WFH in response to the second wave of COVID. If the level 3 restrictions are extended, it will become increasingly likely that Taiwan will not be able to return to its original working style. We can also expect that a Taiwanese WFH model will create new momentum to shape future office layouts and urban spaces. New spaces Cities were originally conceived to connect people. In 1870, the seven-storey Equitable Life Building in New York, with two steam elevators, the first corporate headquarters of The Equitable Life Assurance Society, became the world’s first skyscraper. Its main purpose was to integrate the various departments of the company as closely as possible. As corporations became increasingly complex, it became more profitable to be located near related companies. Furthermore, as companies aim to differentiate themselves from their competition through corporate headquarters, skyscrapers have become a unique feature of every skyline. During this pandemic, the final advantage of urban density has been hollowed out. If in a few years, with the rise of electric and self-driving vehicles and the Internet of Things, WFH will be fully integrated with AIoT. Employees will no longer be the head behind the office assistant’s desk, but the added value capability of a node on the network. With regards to the financial industry, it was inevitable that the pandemic would cause retail banking and even wealth management to shift online (given both restrictions and high real estate costs). Tellers moved home in a hurry. Online, consumer experience optimization will be far more important than the interior decoration of branches. A new mentality for advent of the WFH era In this era, it is even more important for employees to change their attitudes. While some have needed to work from home, some who stayed behind felt lost, as if they drew the short straw. However, after implementation, some WFH workers have complained of competing with their family members for bandwidth, and have been frustrated by technical difficulties. But these obstacles will eventually pass. Look at the many working professionals in the US and Japan. Companies have coordinated with their employees to create a brand-new concept of work-life balance. Some working hours are at the company, and some at home. Meanwhile, online meetings and e-mails have replaced the daily office routine, making WFH a symbol of productivity. Face-to-face meetings will be used for pressing or sensitive matters. Connections between people will become our most cherished moments. It is not clear whether Taiwan will also follow this path in every industry, but the younger generation, who has long been accustomed to the Internet, is likely already gearing up for such a future. Video conference etiquette Finally, some videoconference etiquette tips may help improve the productivity of WFH so that it is more effective in the post-pandemic workplace. First, create an appropriate home meeting venue for yourself. In addition to preventing environmental noise to affect your speaking performance, the furnishings in the picture can be clues to your personality, so it is worth carefully designing your presentation style. It is essential to be in the meeting room on time, so prepare early, including testing the network connection status, battery level, and camera and microphone settings. Second, learn the videoconferencing software ahead of time, such as muting, leaving, raising your hand, and recording, so that you don’t take up meeting time figuring this out. At the same time, read out information carefully, and be prepared to make an impressive presentation, so that everyone pays attention on the small screen without getting bored. The working environment at home is equally important when the meeting is in progress. Do not let background noise affect your session, and look at the camera out of respect for the speaker. Keep in mind that picking your nose may result in screenshots which become the subject of teasing among colleagues. (The author of this article is the President of TABF)