LISTEN: How a team of investment managers have adjusted to working from home

TPB Advisor Diana Chen speaks with Alistair Thompson of First State Stewart Asia on how his team of investment analysts and managers have adjusted to working from home during the COVID pandemic.

First State Stewart Asia (FSSA) is an investment management team that specialises in equity funds and manages over US$27 billion across Asia and emerging markets. The Purpose Business assisted First State with the tools to galvanise investees around ESG - read the full case study.

Previously a skeptic on the idea of working from home (WFH), Alistair now says he imagines the future of work will be a hybrid of both physically and online space. Listen to the full conversation and read his key takeaways below.

Alistair’s key takeaways

Productivity has increased due to less interruptions around the office; but working hours hasn’t necessarily decreased
In online discussions with investors, it’s harder to read their body language, but in some ways it brings a more human aspect by seeing them in their own homes
No matter how much you talk to, text or email someone, there are some things that can’t be learned remotely, such as mentorship for young colleagues and social experiences for new hires (eg. team lunches and office interactions)
There is value in a hybrid office/WFH model in the future - especially for geographically remote teams. The benefit of this would be employees having flexibility to potentially move countries while still having the stability of maintaining their jobs. Ultimately, we will be judged by our performance not by where we are seated
In the future, permanent physical office spaces seem to make less sense in terms of overhead costs — and we will probably see the pay per hour meeting space concept become more of a norm