Nearly half of B2B magazine editors and art directors expect to work remotely as much as they want in the future, according to an international survey.
Of the B2B magazine editors and art directors surveyed by The Association of Business Publications International (TABPI), 41 per cent said that they would be able to work remotely as much as they wanted in the future because of the remote workflow techniques learned because of COVID-19.
The TABPI survey showed that pre-COVID-19, 33 per cent of respondents’ staff fully worked in an office setting. Roughly 13 per cent said they were fully remote, while 54 per cent said their teams were a mix of in-person and remote staff members.
Following COVID-19, 41 per cent expected to work remotely whenever they wanted, 26 per cent said they would have more flexibility to work remotely on occasion, while only 8 per cent of editors and art directors said that they would have to go back to an office setting full time.
Nadia Howland, Associate Publisher for Australia’s The Surveyor, said she had mixed emotions regarding her past and current remote situation.
“It’s difficult!” she said. “Not everyone is online at the same time or easily accessible. That said, some staff members work more productively at different hours and that’s okay, too.”
Another editor had mixed feelings regarding the workload of remote work.
“I’ll be able to work remotely as much as needed, but the workload brought by the pandemic is significantly more. The information need is greater, which has ramped up efforts by editors to deliver more.”
Many creative types hope that we can return to an office setting so that we can physically interact with peers to produce successful projects. Others were happy with how their teams and clients had adapted to working remotely, and hoped that the experience would change management’s attitude toward the practice.
Grant Morgan, Senior Editor of consumer electronic magazine, TWICE (US), said: “We’ve learned that everyone can adapt quicker than they thought possible, and improvements can be made daily to communicate more effectively, thanks to technology,” he said.
Bob Trebilcock, Editorial Director of Supply Chain Management Review (US), explained that for him, the concept of working remotely started long before COVID-19.
“I’ve worked remotely for nearly 40 years, so there’s no impact on my day-to-day editorial duties. The biggest change is that I typically attend 15 to 18 live events a year and last year, I did no business travel after March [2020], and it’s unclear if there will be any business travel at all in 2021.
Another editor, who wished to remain anonymous, agreed with this sentiment, saying, “I have always worked remotely and will continue to enjoy doing so.”
TABPI also recently found that nearly half (41.3 per cent) of B2B publishers feel that the COVID-19 pandemic has hastened their move toward digital content, but the majority plan to keep their print magazine for the foreseeable future.
