Remote working works

In 2020 when I launched ASH Literary, I knew two things were true. One, I was glad to have something else to worry about other than dying from a pandemic, and two, I was never going back to office working. The lockdown forced many of us to abandon our office desks and commutes, and instead set up on our kitchen tables, by our beds, on our sofas. I don’t remember much from March to August 2020 (thank you to my brain’s trauma response), but I do remember immediately knowing that this worked for me.

When, at the start of 2023, my assistant Saffron quietly mentioned that her husband was being posted in Tokyo from 2024 for a minimum of four years and she was, of course, going to go with him, I had a choice. I could either lose a brilliant employee, one who was well on her way to becoming an excellent agent, or I could deal with the time zone differences. It took approximately 0.1 seconds for me to make the decision. Why would I want to lose someone with so much potential, who has already brought so much to the agency, simply because of their location?

Publishing, in my opinion, has done very badly in terms of remote working. Stories of mandated office days, people travelling from halfway up the country and further to make it for their days, and what a waste of time and energy that is. I will happily admit that remote working doesn’t work for everyone but there should be a choice, and a choice of where you live in the country. What does it matter where someone is as long as the work is being done?

Speaking to Lizzie Huxley-Jones, they brought up another issue: accessibility.

Accessibility in publishing is dreadful, not least with the expectation of extra hours outside of work and events. Your colleague who always seems tired may actually be exhausted from the mental and physical load from commuting. Imagine getting on a packed train and immediately getting sensory overload, and then having to work a full day on top of that. Similarly, publishing doesn’t pay enough for most people to live in London so a lot of people have moved out. But what happens to families who have young children? Parents are facing long commutes, train costs, probably delayed trains and all because they’re being told they have to sit at a desk in a specific building?  

I truly believe that by being fully remote and widening the pool of potential staff to the entirety of the UK without the need to relocate to London, we are getting the best people

By allowing people to work remotely, we would level the playing field for everyone. As an industry we’re always banging on about widening the voices heard, but what about those voices in the meetings (which, as we all know, are possible online), those making decisions? If we make remote working a genuine option, how would that change the publishing landscape for the better? Hugely, I feel.

There is another element that comes into play here. Treat your staff like adults, because – spoiler alert – they are. I have full trust in my staff and am constantly baffled by bosses who just assume their employees don’t work at home. Just trust that they are and you’ll see the results, it’s not hard. Sure, there may be the odd one who takes the piss, but the majority of people will respond with the same trust and respect you give them. Treat them like children and they’re not likely to want to do their best work for you.

I understand that remote working isn’t for everyone but for now, that’s how we’re staying at ASH Literary. It’s something anyone wanting to work with us needs to be aware of and I truly believe that by being fully remote and widening the pool of potential staff to the entirety of the UK without the need to relocate to London, we are getting the best people. My new assistant is admittedly also based in London, but I suspect she moved here to up her publishing prospects. Now she works for me she could feasibly work from anywhere in the UK. 

Frankly, I don’t like paying my own flat’s rent and I don’t want to add another landlord to the mix. By not paying for an office, we have eliminated a potential massive overhead which means the agency can be more generous with bonuses, equipment to make home working easier, and if someone wants to go and work in a café they can charge their day to the agency. Meanwhile, I sit at my desk in my living room, with my puppy at my feet or shouting at the dog across the hall, or I’ll meet up with a friend and co-work in a café for the day. It’s peaceful, it helps me focus, and as a bonus I get to do my laundry during the working day. I’ve built my company from various desks, in attics, my bedroom and now my living room. Anyone who thinks people working from home don’t work just needs to come and watch us at ASH Literary for a day or two.