This is not an article about Covid (thank goodness). We’ve all read articles about ‘surviving the pandemic’ and ‘life after Covid’. Have you had a chance to read anything else over the past year and a half? (I heard Sally Rooney has a new book out if you are looking for a recommendation). If you are anything like me, your search engine of choice will feature a plethora of searches like, ‘How to look after your mental health during lockdown’, ‘How to do virtual onboarding’, ‘What is the permitted office space per worker?’, ‘How to understand the calculation for the permitted office space per worker’, ‘Can I wear joggers to the office?’, ‘How to find a face mask that matches my joggers’, etc. You get the idea. From my experience and many hours lost in the above articles, I am confident that you can find this advice online. I guess my ‘take home message’ (take home to the other room where your laptop is not?) is that I do not have any definite answers to this stuff. I’m a well-researched people and inclusion professional with many years of experience in mental health, and I can wholeheartedly reassure you that feeling lost and overwhelmed is okay. Here’s the plot twist you have been waiting for. It is okay to not have answers right now. Should we be working towards a better life-work balance? Yes. Should we have a flexibility-first work culture? Totally. Does everyone have the right to be mentally well at work and should managers be equipped to talk about this? One hundred per cent. Let’s pretend Covid did not happen. Let’s rewind to before we took up running (my knees are suffering) and no one knew what Zoom was (Skype anyone?). In February 2020, this all was true. In October 2021, it is still true. Although we may feel overwhelmed by the demand for change, it was overdue. This is where I find a bit of reassurance in continuity. As someone who has long been passionate about inclusion and wellbeing, the ‘future of work’ was my ‘normal’ back in February 2020. Back then, when dinosaurs roamed Sauchiehall Street, I championed this. There were quite a few of us, who believed in this better working world, but we were still niche. I am well-versed in the business-case for making working cultures more inclusive. I can tie diversity to the bottom line any day of the week (including weekends). But I don’t always have to anymore. Workplaces are waking up. Businesses cannot afford to ignore the needs of their most valuable asset – their people. If you are new to this world, if you have been dragged into this change, but also realise the need to be here, then welcome. Good to see you. Let’s talk. Let’s work it out together. Let’s be side-by-side as we create a better world for all of us. A pandemic surely is not a prerequisite for that. Lynn Pilkington is an inclusion and engagement consultant with digital transformation consultancy This Is Milk