Someone in my house is obsessed with Boss Baby – a film turned TV series about an infant who regards himself as a Born Leader.
You must all watch it every day. I don’t see why I should suffer alone.
Yesterday one character said: “Look, I’m the chief executive. I don’t really do things. I criticise what other people do.”
A rare Boss Baby laugh.
It is to be hoped that CEOs and other boss types come out of all this with a different attitude to the rest of us. The scepticism towards them will surely be long lasting (Boss Baby looks a bit like Donald Trump and Boris Johnson, I note).
I think that’s a challenge for PRs – does your CEO client sound like an autocrat, or a decent sort that people would gladly follow?
It’s a common point of conversation that, work wise at least, Everything Will Be Different.
I remember the first time everything was going to be different, after 9/11 in New York.
Things went the same, but worse, fast.
Big companies said this was not the time to be changing how we work, making any “demands” for a balanced life. It never is.
For some types of job it is important to be in the actual place of work. Heart surgeons need to show up, for example (but there is even movement on that)
Hack and flak land have already demonstrated that most of us can function from home just fine.
Boss Baby types will insist that we need to be in the office for work reasons.
This is because they like control and hate the idea that we might be at home eating cheese sandwiches and taking toilet breaks as often as we like.
Since they are unlikely to have much to offer us in terms of pay rises, I really hope we stand firm, tell them we are available on Zoom, but otherwise shall see them when we see them.
