When Sarah Davidson, now 26, graduated from university in the north of England and entered the world of work, she did so with a decidedly pragmatic attitude.
‘I thought: I have to work to make money, but it’s just that, a job,’ she recalls. ‘I didn’t particularly think I’d be friends with my colleagues and I also didn’t think that would bother me.’
But as she settled into her role at an advertising agency which operated almost entirely remotely, her beliefs began to change. Every task and conversation was managed through a different online platform and there were no natural breaks within which to make small talk or whisper about company decisions; everything seemed to happen in silos.
‘And it wasn’t freeing or flexible, it just made me feel anxious and stressed,’ Sarah says. ‘You were always wondering if people were having meetings without you or if you were the only one who felt a certain way about something. There was no
