2025 Resolutions!
The third working week in January sees most people back to work, and that feeling of work / life balance is back in its usual form, after a long period of indulgence and not really knowing which day it is!
On the 27th December 2024, The Times published the article ‘Need a new year resolution? Five things to stop doing at work’ (Rymer Rigby).
The article focuses on the belief that ‘We never keep the positive goals we set ourselves for the year ahead, so how about breaking some bad workplace habits instead?’
For our business of course, the standout new year resolution was ‘I am going to get a new job’, and in fact the precursor is often to stop doing certain things, which is then the catalyst to finding that dream job!
So here’s our take on the things to stop doing in 2025 -
‘Stop replying to every email/WhatsApp/message’
There is perhaps a misconception that replying to every email and immediately is crucial to workplace success. The article sought to prove this, with a situation where an employee said ‘My boss sends me dozens of emails and I don’t reply to most of them’ Intriguing right!?
She went on to explain that her manager is very “stream of consciousness” and so she can ignore 95 per cent of the messages. “She needs to send them, but I don’t need to respond.”
There is probably a lot which is right about this, though in my view, it’s a balance. The volume of emails we receive each day has seemed to increase exponentially in the last 10 years, which is a combination of an over use of email perhaps, and also increases in automated emails from new and innovated IT and Ai.
The upshot is be selective and respond where it’s necessary, and where a dialogue or acknowledgement of receipt is required.
‘Stop snacking at your desk.’
Most of us are known to participate in this, and why not on occasion. But if 2025 has any health-related resolutions for you, clear away the biscuits, and think healthy! This will not only improve your health, but will increase your energy levels and consequently your productivity at work.
The article went further still, which I liked -
So bite the bullet (not the biscuit) and stop buying the junk. Drink water, tea and coffee. You’ll feel better. You’ll be slimmer. Your keyboard will no longer be a revolting crumb dumpster.
Should you refuse office cake on birthdays? No. This is a ‘green card’, so take it and make the most of connecting with your wider team.
‘Stop being a WFH or Back to the Office extremist’
I wrote a blog on this subject back in 2022, and back then, the return to the office was still ‘finding its feet’. At that time, we hadn’t witnessed swathes of people being back in the office several days a week, and therefore, it wasn’t clear what the ‘new normal’ would look like.
Working from home during the pandemic was of course vital, and I couldn’t agree more with the article on the subject of IT making WFH entirely possible in the post pandemic world. I think it’s fair to say that we all liked the ability to avoid the commute (on a packed / standing room only train) and the ability to do home chores (during your lunch break). However, never or infrequently seeing your colleagues in real life is often non-productive.
Some firms are keen on people being in the office at least 4 days if not 5 days a week. From our experience this is related to two factors –
- Meeting client expectations, i.e. attending meetings in London, and companies working on real estate located in Central London.
- Maintaining team cohesion and work opportunities and challenges collectively, to achieve the best results.
However, in the majority of firms, 3 – 4 days in the office has almost become the new normal, and I think this is a good platform for achieving the optimum work life balance. It’s good for your career, team comradery, and you can still work on that report at home, where you need a different environment and/ or be on hand for family life.
Good luck with your 2025 resolutions!