Zoom life! Technology, and more importantly the changes to working practices and expectations over the last 4 years in particular, allows me to live and work in London, Brazil and Scotland. I’ve been able to create a work model that wasn’t available to me before. For that I am grateful and I love the breadth of work and the diversity of the people I work with. It has allowed me live with the people I love and to build a business I’m proud of, with connections to each part of my life and family.

There are innumerable benefits to the advancement of technology. And at the same time, given so much of my work relates to human connection, it is important not to overlook the fact that technology can come at the cost of human connection. When I mediate workplace disputes the conflicting views and impact of online working is particularly apparent. Inevitably not all employees feel the same about it and depending on circumstances, working from home can feel liberating or isolating and equally working in the office can feel restrictive or productive. And a whole host of factors in between. Companies have to grapple with establishing a new office ethos based on varying degrees of hybrid working models.

Mediation too, often involves a combination of virtual and in-person meetings, and the flexibility of this helps when designing a process to fit the needs of the parties involved. There can be an advantage to holding an online mediation where there are geographical or logistical factors making it difficult to get everyone around a table. And where there are particular vulnerabilities and sensitivities to a dispute it can assist parties to attend remotely.

I think it is also important for us to remember that there is a power in human connection and to not dismiss this when considering the technological options available.