As the Digital Doyenne of Food Processing, I’m no stranger to working remotely. So long as I can get online, I can perform great feats. And because no doyenne is an island, my colleagues and I have mastered all the ways we can stay connected should there be a question or a concern.
Connection is important. Though I don’t see him every day, I’m still able to stay connected with my fellow Food Processing blogger Pan to see what books he’s been reading. Surely, you’ve checked out his blog post about the Berlin Airlift.
While Pan leans more to the side of historical nonfiction, my tastes tend to run more in line with statistical analysis. I have some journalistic hero-worship going on with Malcolm Gladwell and his books have a prominent a place on my bookshelves. Each book more dog-eared and tattered than the other, they sit alongside my first AP Style Guide and the dictionary my father gave me before I went to journalism school.
Every evening, I like to sit down and revisit some of my favorite passages of Gladwell’s books, especially as they pertain to the goings-on of our current world.
The Tipping Point is perhaps one of my favorite Gladwell books. The book is comprised of myriad stories where small things add up to big changes. In the first chapter, while offering the three critical rules of The Tipping Point, you read about virology and how the pandemic of 1918 evolved from a springtime pest to a deadly killer in six months. Jump ahead a few decades, and while examining Human Immunodeficiency Virus, scientists began to notice something about the virus and its host and how quickly it spread. Though perhaps not the best reading while sheltering-in-place during the pandemic of 2020, they both highlight a critical aspect of how things—be it viruses, messages, or ideas—spread. It all comes down to stickiness. In order for something to become big enough that it sticks, it must be memorable and it must make an impact.
I can’t help but wonder: will remote working stick long after the pandemic has passed?
Once the COVID curve has flattened and it’s safe and healthy enough for people to congregate in groups again, I wonder how many companies—and their employees—will recognize the value in working remotely.We’ve obviously witnessed that the infrastructure is available as is the ability to innovate.
As Pan pointed out in Feeding the Feeders’ Dedication, how companies treat their employees during these dire times will go a long way in determining how employees will treat their employers going forward. Have we tipped into the understanding that office presence doesn't always equal the best work environment?
Only time will tell.
Erin Hallstrom is the resident geek of FoodProcessing.com and the author of our Working Wit blog, she's responsible for the digital strategy for FoodProcessing.com including posting content, managing social media, and analyzing reader data. She's a Toastmaster, a Black Belt in Karate, and an Improv Performer to boot. Erin also is a founding member of the Influential Women in Manufacturing program and is a producer and host of our Manufacturing Tomorrow's Workforce podcast. Give her a shout-out or get in touch with her via email.
