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0:00
My name is Dave Cook.
I'm an anthropologist and I
conduct research on remote work,
digital nomads,
and emerging work trends at
the University College London.
In this talk, I'm
going to focus on
the concept of
work-life balance.
I'm going to explore
what it means and how
work-life balance can impact
all aspects of our lives.
I'm going to explore
how it relates to
personal and public
health and how addressing
work-life balance can positively
impact company cultures and
individual performance.
0:36
In summary, I'll start
with a short overview
of my research.
I will then introduce some
emerging trends, such
as the work from anywhere
culture and digital nomadism.
These are given to encourage
you to think about
work-life balance across a
number of different contexts.
0:55
Broadly speaking,
anthropology is
the study of people
throughout place and time.
I study the workplace
and how that
fits into people's daily lives.
I also work with UCL's
eWorkResearch task force,
eworkresearch.org, where I have
studied the effects of
work-life balance
in the workplace.
Specifically, 1. How
it relates to remote work
and hybrid settings.
2. Defining what work-life
balance means precisely.
3. How to implement work-life
balance in practice
and how to maintain work-life
balance successfully.
1:34
It's all too easy to
forget that before
the pandemic remote work
was not widely accepted.
At best, it was a
gradually rising trend.
According to the UK's Office
of National Statistics,
less than 6% of workers
worked from home before
the pandemic permanently.
Prior to the pandemic,
I was working on an 8-year
research project studying
digital nomads who lived and
traveled in places like
Thailand and Southeast Asia.
Pre-pandemic, remote work was
quite a niche practice that
one and an enthusiastic
minority were
interested in.
Until March 2020, when the
pandemic struck and remote work
suddenly became
unexpectedly mainstream.
I've been researching remote
work quietly for years,
and very few people were
interested in the topic,
but in March 2020,
I suddenly started to get calls
from journalists,
HR professionals,
managers, and consultants
because I had been running
one of the longest continuous
studies into remote work.
