Changes to working practices in medical communications during the COVID-19 pandemic: Insights from two surveys

Successive waves of COVID-19 have altered opinions and working practices. We conducted a survey in early 2020 among 759 members of the medical communications community, recruited via our network, seeking their experiences, opinions, and insights. The survey was repeated 13 months later (N=925 respondents) using similar methodology. In both surveys respondents had a generally positive attitude to home working and appreciation for the lack of commute and time saved. In contrast, distractions in the home, inability to "switch off" at the end of the day, and concerns about potential impact on career development and/or connections with colleagues were highlighted. Notable findings include working longer hours as the pandemic progressed and an increase in feelings of isolation and loneliness in comparison to before the pandemic. Companies generally appear not to have used the time since the start of the pandemic to formally define home or hybrid working, including consideration of workplace health and safety requirements. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Medical Writing is the property of European Medical Writers Association (EMWA) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)