Hybrid - the best or worst of both worlds

Last week I did six different external activities all on the same day. I know. It was almost like a pre-covid day. I genuinely felt there was light at the end of the tunnel. In full transparency, I am inclined to be optimistic. I went into lock down on March 17th 2020. While other people were stocking up on hazmat suits and buying industrial quantities of TP, I genuinely thought if we Mari Kondo'd the hell out of our houses and alphabetized our spice racks, it would be over in a month.

We all know how that went.

Green shoots of recovery

But I do see that day as a good sign. The job market seems to be unexpectedly buoyant. There are a significant number of ads for both Talent Acquisition specialists and recruiters (currently 364,970 on LinkedIn according to research from Amy Schultz, Global Head of T.A. Canva) which is usually an indication of increased hiring activities. People are more outward looking and positioning themselves for larger group interaction. The question "one or two?" is no longer about sugar in coffee, but the number of vaccines someone has had. The "COVID19" is now linked to pounds gained during the pandemic, not the virus itself.

Location, location, location

When we talk about the "future of work," in the first instance what we are really talking about currently is the future location of work. Leapgen shared in their recent Friday Meet-Up stats on the key drivers for people wanting to return to a physical place of work. Two main ones were a need to collaborate in person (63%) and 62% wanted to socialise with colleagues. 25% even want to go back to dressing up for work, rather than what I call wearing emotional support attire. We are definitely seeing fewer Braveheart, bunker beards.

The current preferred model is hybrid working, which reflects our need for connection, collaboration and community, with in-person workplace contact. We are on our way to figuring out the where of the problem, but so far, not the how. The challenge will be getting that right as we all adapt.

But we still don't know if it is going to be the best or worst of both worlds.

Two-tier workforce

One of the potential downsides is the emergence of a two tier workforce and how to deal with it. Studies have shown that remote workers received fewer promotions and lower bonuses compared to in-office colleagues.?Out of sight can be out of mind.

Rajiv Ayyangar, CEO, Tandem calls the phase we are approaching now the " Remote 3.0" phase. He identifies one of the greatest challenges."Employees may find it much harder to participate in core company functions, to be included in casual conversations, and to form relationships with their colleagues."

The other issue that most companies have not equipped their managers to deal with two location teams. Erica Volini, Global Human Capital Leader at Deloitte, expressed concerns “We’re not seeing enough investment in how team leaders can create a culture of flexibility, trust, and empowerment,”

With untrained managers there is a real risk of remote workers losing visibility and relevance.

Non-linear days

Darren Murph is Head of Remote, GitLab and author Living the Remote Dream: A Guide To Seeing the World, Setting Records, and Advancing Your Career. Seen as the oracle of remote work he has created a remote work Playbook. His message is however pretty male coded. In a "non-linear" day he gets up at 08.15 where he shifts between working, working out, and skiing. There is no mention of school runs, requests for lost socks or help with homework. He says "My own family would tell you that I was almost completely absent from holiday gatherings"

Echoing Erica Volini, he?warns for distributed working to be effective, all or the majority of workers, have to be remote. “You’re going to have to work really hard to make sure remote workers don’t feel like a second class.” With current hybrid plans leaning towards three days in the office, that may not happen.

The She-cession

One demographic tempted to go down the remote path to create a better work/life balance will be women. Interestingly at 88% (I'm a Kindle reader) Murph states categorically "there is no work/life balance" He adds, "those looking for well-defined lines between work and leisure should stay where they are."

This is interesting because non-professional activity for Murph is "leisure." For women their non-professional activity is also mainly work, just a different type. Women were hard hit by the pandemic for a number of complex and overlapping reasons. One of the main challenges was a huge increase in the amount of housework and child care work they took on, highlighting gender imbalance at home. This has contributed to many women leaving the workforce since the onset of the pandemic. 400,000 more women than men in the U.S.

The line that you can’t solve new problems with old thinking is one that is playing like an ear worm in my head at the moment. Every day I see something that makes my pulse rise. You are probably saying I should be grateful I have a pulse, but we do need to re-calibrate our approach in some areas if we want to prevent even further regression.

Re-frame the language

First we have to stop talking about getting “moms” back to work. Women without children are also impacted because they occupied roles hard hit by the pandemic. Childcare arrangements are for parents not just mothers. Let’s start saying that. We are not helping mothers by being creative around childcare, but our businesses and the global economy.

We also have to axe the phrase "working moms/mums." Women are 50% of the global population and make-up almost 50% of the workforce. For those who are not in the visible workplace they are working, just somewhere else. This is a term from the 80s - and trust me I know, I was there. It was intended to create a hierarchy of mothering, which is no longer relevant. At the same time let's get rid of the term “momprenur.” Do we say” dadpreneur”? Of course not, it sounds ridiculous and is demeaning.?

Share the load

Women did not mysteriously “find themselves” with no domestic support during the pandemic. No. Their partners did not take an equal share domestic or parenting responsibilities. Women also for different reasons allowed this to happen.?It was either an active choice or a passive default situation based on age old stereotypes. We need to re-frame language around men not stepping up to share the load of the parenting role post pandemic.

Shirley Conran the woman who invented the term Superwoman in 1975 much to our detriment, in 2004, 30 years older and wiser, said “you don’t need a pair of breasts to take a child to the dentist. ”?That covers it.

Remote Sexism and Harassment

In addition to all challenges facing any employee working from home, there are further downsides for women. The figures around the rise in domestic violence globally are well known. There are also early indications around gender differences with Zoom fatigue as women report higher levels. But if you think that women escaped the sexism and harassment found in the workplace shown on the info-graphic below because they were working remotely - think again. Even Jeffrey Toobin who was fired for masturbating (yep... you did not misread that) in a Zoom meeting has been reinstated in his job at CNN.

Research from UK employment law firm Slater and Gordon indicated that " .. more than a third of women were asked to put more make-up on or redo their hair, while 27 per cent were asked to dress in a more sexy or provocative way."

Studies by Catalyst reported that?"45% of women in leading positions in the US say it is tough to speak up during virtual meetings.?20% said they feel ignored and overlooked in meetings."

All the embedded systemic sexism that women experience in the physical workplace is being transferred on-line and will continue unless leaders take specific action to offset that. They need to work harder to create that atmosphere of psychological security and trust, to create inclusive workplaces for distributed teams.

This is one area where I sadly feel less optimistic. If managers struggle in one workplace how will they cope with two? Women opting to go down the #WFH path or become part of a hybrid organisation will need to be willing to step up in three key areas. They need to create a strategy to ensure they stay top of mind in the post pandemic workplace, be willing to firmly self-advocate and be clear on their boundaries.

The situation highlights the pressing need for women to contribute equally to the future of work discussions. They shouldn't rely on managers to manage well, or count on the universe to take care of them.

Today, they are the universe.

**************

Not a subscriber? Hit the subscribe button!

Footnote: If your organisation wants to strengthen its female talent pipeline to create gender balanced, diverse and inclusive workplaces in a post COVID world, reach out for more information: [email protected]