Hachette staff to work three days in the office from June

Hachette has announced a new three-day office working policy to be phased in from June and coming fully into effect from September.

In an email sent to all staff on Tuesday (20th April), group HR director Melanie Tansey revealed a new 3:2 hybrid working model comprised of three days in the office and two days working from home, with "core collaboration hours" from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. during which most meetings will be scheduled, and flexible start and finish times.

This applies to all staff in Carmelite House, London, and Hachette’s national offices, with the exception of those working in distribution, IT operations and facilities, which are site-based roles by nature, or anyone with an existing contractual home working arrangement. There is no differentiation by seniority and the policy will apply to every level of staff.

Hachette said that to make sure hybrid meetings are “as human, collaborative and professional as possible, we ask everyone to keep their cameras on unless there’s a medical reason not to”.

The company has said that anyone with a disability, neurodiversity or health condition who is concerned about returning to the office can talk to their manager or HR, who will make adjustments and provide tailored support.

The transition period will start from 21st June, when the government is scheduled to lift all Covid-19 restrictions. The phased period will continue until 1st September when it will take effect fully.

The publisher is running workshops that are open to all staff so they have an opportunity to ask questions and will conduct a staff survey towards the end of the year to evaluate the changes.

In the email to staff, Tansey wrote: “Having experienced the many business and personal benefits of home working directly over the past year (although we acknowledge these benefits were diluted for those of you home schooling or with other caring responsibilities during lockdown), we now see home working as a crucial component of our working model and it’s here to stay. Many of us have found that our more routine and transactional work, or quiet focused work, can be done more effectively from home. And despite the anxiety and circumstances of a global pandemic, we’ve appreciated seeing more of our kids or our partner, more time for exercise, time and money saved by not commuting, some of us have been able to better manage visible and invisible health conditions, and generally had an overall better work/life integration. That is why we’re transforming to a hybrid working model for the long term and believe it’s right for our business and for the wellbeing of all our staff.

“However, we are a creative business and being together in person has enormous benefits for us as colleagues and team members, and for our authors, illustrators, agents, translators and other industry partners. We need human contact and the swapping of ideas to thrive, and we’ll have more cohesion if, on balance, we are together in person more often than not. Creative meetings, brainstorming sessions, securing and building relationships with new authors, onboarding new employees, and providing sensitive feedback are just some examples of activities that lose some effectiveness when done remotely."

She added: “There’s a lot we have missed and are looking forward to having back in our working lives. Connection with some of our colleagues may have improved as remote meetings allow for more attendees and a more equal meeting experience for everyone, particularly those not based in London, but our working world and our range of connections become very narrow when we’re working from home. We’re excited to interact with team members in person again, we’ll rekindle old relationships with people who aren’t in our direct teams and whom we haven’t spoken to for a year, we’ll forge new connections with colleagues outside our direct teams, we’ll hold in-person creative brainstorming meetings, we’ll have lunch or a coffee with each other, we’ll be able to drop by our manager’s desk to resolve an issue quickly, we’ll have a casual conversation with someone we encounter in the hallway. All of these human moments don’t arise in the world of remote working.”

Ed Wood, publishing director for Sphere Fiction, told The Bookseller: “Throughout the pandemic, David [Shelley, pictured], Melanie and the rest of the Hachette management team have been flawlessly supportive of their staff. The return to work policy is typically forward-looking, with its focus on blended home and office working, both in London and across the regional offices. This is not just about being sensible as we come out of lockdown, it's a vital forward step towards opening up our workforce to a broader demographic. Through listening to staff - whether that's directly or through the networks - they have fashioned a system that should work for more staff at all levels."

Tansey told The Bookseller: “As a board, we’ve been debating different ways of working after the pandemic that will help us to continue publishing brilliant books and being a great place to work. Taking into account everything we have experienced over the past extraordinary year, and the various pros and cons of being together in person and working remotely, we’ve settled on a new 3:2 model of hybrid working, with three days in the office and two working from home. We’ll be changing our entire approach to meetings to ensure everyone is included, whether they are in London, in one of our national offices, or working from home, and we will have core collaboration hours outside of which everyone can decide their own start and finish times.

“We appreciate this is a major adjustment after a year in lockdown, so we’re running two all-staff workshops in the next fortnight to provide a forum for feedback, and we plan to conduct a staff survey towards the end of the year to see how people are adapting to the new hybrid model. Government guidance permitting, we expect staff to start returning to our offices from 21st June, but we’re providing a transition period over the summer, so the 3:2 model officially takes effect from 1st September.”

A recent Bookseller survey revealed the emotional and physical toll of lockdown on the publishing industry with many feeling “crushed, tired, unfocused and lacking in motivation”. Half of office workers in the survey predicted a 50:50 split between home and office working in future. Many respondents also described how home-working has exposed disparity between the wealth of some junior and senior members of staff.