Inclusion-centered remote and hybrid strategies are better for business
Inclusion-centered remote and hybrid strategies are better for business
?Remote work can enable broader experiences, provide exposure to more people across an organization, and attract diverse talent. It can also improve the work experience for groups that are often marginalized. The result? Improvements in morale, retention, productivity and a host of other benefits that improve the bottom line.
?However, remote work models also present challenges – often disproportionately for underrepresented and marginalized workers – that need to be better understood and proactively addressed by employers. We’ve argued throughout this series that the time is now.
?As companies continue to rethink their work model designs and consider how remote and hybrid strategies fit into their longer-term plans, there is an unprecedented opportunity to put inclusion at the center of the redesign. It’s better for workers and workplaces, and it’s also better for business. Planning for inclusion helps to ensure the benefits that companies have gained from the work models of the last two years are not lost in the transition.
?Remote work can expand the pool of talent and enable you to attract people with more diverse backgrounds and life experiences. The rise of remote work has created nearshoring opportunities that enable companies to pursue talent in new locations. That means companies located in less diverse areas or locations that are inaccessible due to cost of living can now cast a much larger tent. However, as companies shift to more in-person work, it’s essential that remote employees are not left out of mentoring, networking and advancement opportunities that often happen in person. Fortunately, anyone who’s attended a virtual conference or happy hour knows we’ve learned plenty in the last two years about how to replicate in-person experiences virtually. Approaches that address the inclusion of remote workers should be a priority.
?Remote work can improve employee experience, particularly among those more likely to be marginalized. It’s not a coincidence that more women and workers of color prefer to work from home than white workers and men. According to a Future Forum study , “Since the broad adoption of remote-work policies, employee experience scores for Black knowledge workers have risen most sharply, with Black men making the biggest quarter-over-quarter gains in employee experience out of all demographic groups in the U.S.” The study also found that Black workers who work remotely are happier in their jobs and have a more favorable view of their employer. They also reported a 50% increase in feelings of belonging at work and a 64% increase in the ability to manage stress.
?One possible reason for these improvements? Fewer microaggressions. Remote work doesn’t eliminate microaggressions, but it certainly mitigates the ones that require physical interaction. As companies plan varying forms of return-to-work strategies, they’ll need to be purposeful about a work model design that doesn’t forfeit the gains that have been made. One way to do that? Ask workers what they want and why.
?Remote work creates opportunities for workers who might otherwise be excluded from the on-site workplace. Caregivers, people with disabilities, people with transportation limitations, people who are more likely to have negative experiences, such as racism and sexism, in the workplace – there are plenty of reasons an on-site work experience might not be ideal. This is where organizations should embrace flexibility. Can hybrid models be great? Yes, but not always and not for everyone. While we feel strongly that organizations should examine and address why the on-site work environment isn’t as accessible as it should be, it’s also important to retain the models that are working. Providing an environment that gives people what they need will go a long way toward making them feel valued, respected and included.
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?This redesign phase is an opportunity to improve retention and satisfaction by embedding work-life balance into work models. Most workers want a job that offers work-life balance – 83% of millennials and 62% of older workers say it’s an important factor when considering a job opportunity. But this isn’t something we should prioritize simply because people want it (although we’d argue that’s not a half-bad reason). A healthy work-life balance has long been shown to reduce stress, increase happiness and improve job satisfaction. These are exactly the conditions required for inclusion.
Burnout is a bug, not a feature. No one should feel like they need to be at work or available to work 24 hours a day. Even so, a 2021 survey found that more than a third of employees feel like they need to be available to work at all times and anecdotal evidence suggests the transition to remote work has not helped the situation. Not surprisingly, the study also found that 24/7 workers were more than twice as likely to feel burned out. Prioritizing work-life balance in work redesign could mean we need to set boundaries and encourage workers to do the same, especially in a remote/hybrid environment. When employers’ actions demonstrate genuine care for people’s health and well-being, we’ll have a much better chance of creating more inclusive work environments.
?We’ve talked a lot in this series about opportunities to create more inclusive on-site work experiences. This is important and we’re going to keep talking about it because many people – including disproportionate numbers of lower-income workers and people of color – only have the option to work at work. But we also recognize that remote and hybrid opportunities work well for many people and organizations.
?The optimal work-model mix will look different from one employer to the next. We don’t know the perfect balance for your business and employees. What we do know is this: Whatever your work models look like, there are plenty of opportunities to put inclusion at the center of them.
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