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Distance, conversation or hug?
Everything is fine - depending on the color
Photo: Matt Jones / Oxbridge
SPIEGEL:
Mr. Jones, a few weeks ago you published a photo on Twitter showing lanyards in three colors: red, green and yellow.
Your employees should wear these and be able to show others what they feel comfortable with after returning from home office to the office: clap and sometimes a hug with green, the greatest possible distance with red. Was that a social media gag or? are these things really in use?
Matt Jones:
We've actually been using them for about a year, the Twitter post came later.
That was a great way to deal with the new situation in the pandemic.
SPIEGEL:
How did your company experience the pandemic?
Jones:
We're an online education provider for all kinds of courses from accounting to childcare.
So economically speaking, the past few months have been good for us.
We have around 130 employees, and at least 40 work at our headquarters in Birmingham. And before you could talk to someone, it was annoying to carefully ask about the general conditions under which the other person feels comfortable.
So I came up with the idea of the traffic light colored lanyards.
It's completely intuitive.
SPIEGEL:
The reactions to the photo were divided: some thought that you shouldn't be forced to come to the office at all during a pandemic ...
Jones:
We didn't force anyone either.
Before the pandemic, our home office quota was around 60 percent, now it's roughly there again.
In between, of course, we were almost all at home.
But some people just prefer to work in the office, and some still want to keep their distance there.
SPIEGEL:
How did your workforce react to your lanyards?
Jones:
Positive.
It is of course completely voluntary whether you want to use them.
But most of them wanted that. In the beginning everyone really took one, now most of them just hang on their own screen.
We got so much feedback, also from other companies - I think that would be a good way of making it easier for employees to return to the office, even for larger companies.
Of course, you need an open culture in which you treat each other with appreciation and respect one another.
When I tweeted the picture, I didn't think it would make such a ripple.
SPIEGEL:
How many are using the red ribbon?
Jones:
At the beginning, a year ago, most of them chose red or yellow.
In the meantime, with the loosening and the increasing vaccination rate, we almost only see yellow and green in the office.
We have also received criticism that the tapes are not suitable for color blind people - but this criticism only came from outside.
We don't have anyone on the team who has problems, otherwise we would have found a solution that wouldn't exclude anyone.
SPIEGEL:
How did the pandemic change the atmosphere?
Jones:
I think, in terms of society as a whole, people are still insecure and don't really know how to deal with each other.
Do you still shake hands?
How close do you get to each other?
And finally, the issue of mental health is getting more on the agenda: We, at least most of us, take better care of each other.
I feel like my emotional intelligence has increased.
SPIEGEL:
I imagine it as a bit embarrassing if you, say, wear a red ribbon and then a green colleague comes towards you, whom you might actually like ...
Jones:
Yeah, but that's exactly the point: that we treat each other with respect and openness.
That also means accepting the limits with which others feel comfortable.
And it is a good idea to communicate these boundaries in a clear, appreciative and uncomplicated manner.
SPIEGEL:
What color do you wear yourself?
Jones:
Green.
According to the corona rules, that's okay too.
You know, that about the "hugs and high fives" is more of a metaphor - that was phrased with a wink.
Of course, we are not seriously asking anyone to indiscriminately hug colleagues now.
SPIEGEL:
How long do you want to use the tapes?
Jones:
Definitely by the end of the year.
Then we'll see.
SPIEGEL:
Some people would prefer a red ribbon.
Unlimited.
Completely independent of the pandemic.
Jones:
Yeah, sure.
There are also more red and green types in the professional world - and that's both okay.
Except for those who may be too green.
In essence, it's about that we are human, that we treat each other decently and respectfully.
Are just nice.
The world can really use that now.