London’s working from home conundrum, out of adversity comes opportunity, EG’s mental health survey and: ”What’s your favourite doughnut?”

We’re Still Here is back for another episode this week, making Friday a Friyay. And while tech and special projects editor Emily Wright is away for the week making pastry somewhere deep in Middle England, tech and global reporter Lucy Alderson has stepped in this week to debrief on this week’s biggest news stories with deputy editor Tim Burke.

And unlike the jam-packed, news-filled week it was for all things property, Alderson and Burke kick off proceedings by discussing how the government’s U-turn on its back to the office campaign could see London turn into a doughnut – nothing in the middle with lots of activity round the edges. The duo discuss the various reactions from real estate heavyweights to the government’s new covid-19 measures, and how it will affect the capital’s recovery in the long-term.

Attentions turn to discussing the latest developments concerning the widespread redundancy programmes taking place across the agency sector. This week saw a number of high profile senior directors strike out on their own to set up new consultancies after losing their jobs, and Alderson and Burke discuss the challenges, but also the opportunities, that removing the stigma around redundancies could present.

The two also discuss another issue that stigma also surrounds – mental health. Last week EG launched its second annual mental health survey to gather insight into the mental health of property’s workforce. Last year’s survey showed that 1 in 4 property professionals had considered suicide, and EG is looking to see whether property has been able to shift those worryingly high stats back. Please help us by filling out the survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/VBKMQ6Y