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Opinion Piece Thursday 23rd December 2021

Stats4SD in 2021: A Review

After nearly two years of challenging conditions due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we have proven to be adaptable, resilient and ready for 2022.

We are still working from home, but miss working together in a shared physical space. No doubt it has to do with the ease and efficiency of work interactions, but we also miss meeting with each other as friends. At the same time, we must acknowledge that working from home has created opportunities for colleagues based away from Reading to participate on an equal basis with the rest of the team. 

In October, we attempted going back to the office after the Reading-based team was double vaccinated. Adopting a set of stringent rules, some of us gave it a go. It was good to be working together again! As it got colder in early November, we realised that working at a desk with the windows open, while the thermometer registered single digits, was not fun. We finally decided to work from home again. We hope we can use the office in the spring, and with some luck, without the stringent rules.

This year we were unable to go tree planting for the third year. Hopefully, we will be able to get cold, muddy, and energised next year while planting a few more saplings.

The Covid-19 pandemic has affected how we work. For example, we have not travelled for work for nearly two years. What does this teach us about reducing CO2 emissions in the future? We need to draw lessons from this experience to provide support to our partners and clients in the future.

We have explored different ways of working. Can this help us develop a culture of work that supports a better work-life balance? Can we design a way of working that takes the best of what we had before the pandemic and retain the best parts of what we have learnt during it?

Financially, the Covid-19 pandemic reduced our income. We expected to have to use some of our financial reserves to keep going. Eventually, without reducing the size of our team and without putting anyone on furlough, we finished the financial year 2020-2021 with a small positive balance. I want to thank everyone in the team for all their efforts. I think that our financial year 2021-2022 will be better still, but the Covid-19 pandemic conditions still prevail. We need to redouble our efforts to ensure we are successful. After nearly two years of challenging conditions due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we have proven to be adaptable, resilient and ready for 2022.