Mothers, Work from Everywhere...

...But they need the office for professional camaraderie and build their professional network.

A period of significant change brings with it an expectation of hope, desire and sometimes fear of a new normal. The covid era is no different with people seeking new normal in everything from social interactions to work arrangements.

While the return to office is slowly underway in India - many firms are still remote and tout this as the ‘new normal’.

Work from Home - More Hours, Less Productivity especially for employees with children at home

In a large study of over 10,000 skilled professionals at a large Asian IT services firm, to understand productivity before and during the working from home (WFH) period, researchers found that employees worked longer hours (18% more hours) but had lower productivity (8-19% lower productivity). Employees with children at home increased work hours more and had a larger decline in productivity than those without children. Women had a larger decline in productivity than men. (Work from Home & Productivity: Evidence from Personnel & Analytics Data on IT Professionals? July 2021 Univ. of Chicago)

The return to office - senior executives and women’s interests are aligned for a change ;)

Let’s take a look at the execs first...?

Slack’s future of work poll, released in October, said that executives are far keener to get back to the office than other employees. The data showed 75% senior executives wanted to be in the office three days a week or more but only 34% of non-executives felt the same way.

A similar story is being played out in other firms, including Apple where some employees are questioning the rush to return to office.?

Now for the mothers…

Working mothers with a dual burden of personal and professional responsibilities have benefited from the work from anywhere and reduced commute, thanks to covid. In the US, 1 out of 3 college educated women with children would prefer to work full-time remotely.?

This desire to continue with remote work is completely understandable. However, as the workforce starts to return to the office, this may not be ideal for a few reasons -?

1. Flexibility stigma - women are more likely than men to be penalised for seeking flexible working arrangements
2. Lack of networking opportunities - while thanks to zoom we have probably been in more meetings than we need over the past 18 months - the bonding and conversations in person are crucial for women to build relationships at the workplace
3. Mental well-being - the physical separation of work and home is helpful to reduce the constant pressure to be switched on and available, all the time. Being on a zoom call with a child crying or needing attention is not easy, and takes a toll on working mothers.?

“Keeping distance between work and home is important, and I never realised this until I went back to the office full time,” said one fintech employee. “You lean towards the comfort of home but this isn’t good long term.” Sifted article on Work from Home

Recommended reading - Pandemic Working Mom

In order to make the new normal work for mothers - companies need to go beyond just flexibility of work from home. Here are a few things to be mindful of the needs of working parents -?

1. Work arrangement - look at flexible schedules and not just at remote vs office based. While offices are starting to reopen, schools and daycare facilities are not fully open to support working parents with childcare needs.
2. Culture - it is not easy to build culture in a remote team, however it is imperative to imbibe a culture of empathy towards the unique needs of working parents, and people with caregiving duties.