Sticky Note On-Screen Comms

There was no source attributed underneath this image's appearance on London broadsheet The Telegraph recently. Nor could Google Lens provide one.

Which is a shame, 'cos it's a cracker.

I embed/link to it above as for pretty much all video calls I run, I myself, and suggest of those joining me to also, have at hand a sticky note pad and marker pen.

The piece in general was on employers seemingly moving away from carrot and very much towards stick around place-of-work. Politeness now faded when it comes to coercing employees that have slid into WFH to head back to the office, pronto.

It cited this (uncredited, without context) stat; "average office occupancy currently sitting at just 34 per cent".

Bosses sensing they can no longer throw their weight around and potentially exposed as being unnecessary using smokescreens of untapped collaboration to ensure their ego gets reflated?

Other views might be available...

There's even a stark political play by a potential prime minister. How's this for a proposed legislation's first line pledge;

“Make flexible working the default from day one for all workers, except where it is not reasonably feasible.”

In which case the above vision up-top would perhaps seldom appear IRL. And surely not for attendance location issues.

I do though constantly lament the mistaken conflation of 'remote' and 'WFH'.

Principally due to the storied history of the out-of-office sales routine.

Road warriors to our core.

Even the very best, most dedicated, office-bound telephone sellers tend to need occasion to be away from their desk to visit client premises.

Not to mention how we handle prospects that might be, at best, in hybrid working 'flexibility' mode. Let alone meet with colleagues that happen to be out-of-office when we are not.

It also unnecessarily - and damagingly - sullies the enormous productivity, progress and process uplifts which truly getting to grips with video sales can bring.

Still, should you be on a video call, then to once in a while jot down a word or three on your post-it pad, then thrust it webcam-wards in the above fashion, can mean you'll both make a favourable impression and be more likely to gain that crucial engagement yearned.