How Remote Work is Reshaping the Workforce

Having a diverse workforce was a growing area of focus for companies’ before COVID-19 dramatically shifted the way companies hire and function. For some companies, this shift has been a blessing in disguise.

Remote Work Removes Location Boundaries

Hiring practices play a significant role in diversity and inclusion efforts for a company. Depending on how the company hires, they may be vulnerable to an unconscious hiring bias. Who do they have looking at resumes? How do they decide to move a candidate forward? Do they take race/ethnicity, age, or gender into account when deciding to move a candidate forward? Depending on their answers, they could be setting up barriers for talented diverse candidates.

The best way a company can diversify their workforce is by diversifying their recruitment channels. 2020, forever changed the way companies seek out and hire candidates, as technology became critical for the interview and selection process. Additionally, the shift towards remote work, and away from geographic restrictions for candidates, opened a significantly wider and more diverse candidate pool.

Now, keep in mind, that most companies may still need candidates within the same time zone as them. Even with this factor put in place, there are still many states that share times zones compared to having to hire candidates in one particular city.

Having a Diverse Workforce Pays Off

Companies with a more diverse workforce are achieving better business results. In a McKinsey study , researchers found that gender-diverse companies perform 15% better than those who lack gender-diversity. Another key finding showed that ethnically diverse companies perform 35% better. Not only does diversity yield better business results, it also opens the door for companies to have more empathy.

Companies with a more diverse workforce are more likely to understand challenges faced by people from all different walks of life. This can lead to changes in HR protocols, workplace practices, culture changes, etc. If the company listens and adapts to employees’ needs, a diverse workforce will lead to a more inclusive workplace.

Working Remotely Brings New Opportunities

When a company embraces remote work, they can bring on a broader candidate pool, which they would otherwise miss. Without remote work options, employers are missing out on talented professionals who prefer to – or can only – work from home. These candidates deserve an equal opportunity to grow in their careers.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1 in 4 U.S. adults live with a disability that impacts major life activities. The most common being, mobility. Mobile disability impacts 1 in 7 Americans. Remote work removes this barrier.

More than ever, parents are opting to stay home instead of paying for childcare to be closer to their kids during their formative years. A study from Pew Research found that stay-at-home moms and dads now account for almost 1 in 5 U.S. parents . The study also found that 29% of stay-at-home moms have a college degree. For stay-at-home dads, about a quarter of them have college degrees. Remote work options open the door for these parents to have their preferred home and work life balance.

Final Thoughts

We are aware that not all companies have the option to implement remote work options. There are a lot of jobs that need to be done in person only. Regardless, there are still thousands of jobs that can be done remotely. With the increasing use of technology, it is safe to assume that the number of remote jobs will only be increasing in the future.

When looking at increasing diversity and inclusion, the shift in the way we work after 2020 was for the better. With a dramatic increase in remote work, companies have opened doors to their most diverse candidate pool yet. Locations are no longer a boundary and workplace accommodations can be tackled with remote options.

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What are your thoughts? Do you agree/disagree? Let us know in the comments.