It’s not like we’re bucking a trend or anything, in fact we’re certainly not alone in this move for a more flexible working future. As awful as the pandemic was for us all, one positive thing it’s taught us at bluesky is that we can do what we do perfectly well from literally anywhere. At the beginning of the first lockdown, the idea of closing the office was daunting and quite honestly, slightly frightening. On a very surreal Friday in March 2020 we left the building, emptied the fridge and set the alarm, not knowing when, or if, we’d be back.

Almost 18 months on, we find ourselves in a totally different mindset. It’s given us all time to reflect on what’s important in life and work, and the balance of the two. With clients in far-flung places such as the US, Canada, India and Iraq, we’ve been using video meetings for years. And pre-Covid, we were used to everyone home-working one day per week as a bluesky lifestyle perk too. So the physical day-to-day practice of lockdown working was a relatively easy transition for us. Designing, strategising, writing — it helps that the kind of work we do is ultimately flexible. So long as we’ve got our Macs and each other we’re fully operational. We’ve actually been loads more productive! With the time once spent commuting now being spent on important everyday home stuff like getting the washing on, working out or simply spending more time with the family (or dog), we’re finding we’ve got a higher quality, more positive energy to focus on work.

So, you’ve guessed it, we’re not going back! By unanimous vote across the bluesky team, we’re going to continue with our ‘new normal’ from here on. Production meetings will still happen first thing every morning on Skype, there’ll be a home-from-home hot-desking hub for anyone who fancies a bit of office company from time to time, we’ll find creatively inspiring places for project meetings and we’ll make even more of an effort to get together socially. Clients will still pop in for meetings and a cuppa at our new bluesky HQ, with plenty of informal indoor and outdoor meeting space.

We get it that this wouldn’t work for all businesses, or all employees for that matter. You have to find the way forward from here that works for you, your team and your clients. But when home working, one recommendation we would make is — get a lock for the fridge!

Our new bluesky HQ address is: The Old Moat House, 20 Duke Street, Haughley, Suffolk IP14 3QS