Brightly coloured Post-it posters are appearing across the UK as well as in social media with statements about the future of work. Each statement features a thought-provoking blank for the reader to complete. The posters are a campaign by SheSays, the non-profit organisation championing gender equality in the creative industries, with JCDecaux Community Channel that asks the UK to Rework the Future. The initiative aims to co-create a more inclusive future of work that better meets the needs of women and non-binary people.
Some of the campaign’s statements are:
“Flexible work will be _____________ for women.”
“If we ______________ we can smash the glass ceiling.”
“The best bosses will be the ones that ________.”
The Post-its symbolise the work needed to shape the industry’s future. Their folded corners indicate the importance of the matter and act as a reference to indicate that the audience should return to the topic repeatedly, as you would do when marking a key page on a book.
The campaign’s tagline, The Future is what we make it, is a positive call to action, encouraging everyone to Have your say at reworkthefuture.com, by completing a questionnaire about the fundamental changes needed to create a better work environment. The data collected will feed into a manifesto for change, that SheSays plans to present to businesses in late September. SheSays hopes that the manifesto will highlight urgent issues and serve as a roadmap for actionable improvements in workplace policies.
The campaign coincides coincides with the new government’s focus on the workplace that includes Labour’s Plan to Make Work Pay and the Right to Disconnect code of practice, both of which aim to strike a balance so that work functions for employees and employers.
Amy Dick, UK president of SheSays, stated, “Our campaign is urging people to have their say to build a better future of work. We want people to feel empowered and see that the future is yet to be decided. There is a massive opportunity to shape it in a way that better reflects our needs. The 2023 AA All In Census found that 26% of respondents would consider leaving their company within the next 12 months due to a poor work / life balance, and two days in the office was the preferred hybrid working option. Yet the push for people to be in the office continues, and many recommendations urging change are not being enforced. Our industry has inherited working practices that need reviewing and updating, and now is the time for our people-centred industry to have a say on how they want the future of work to look.”
