What we learnt about workforce inclusion from home-working

I’ve been doing some thinking lately on personal identity and its different dimensions, prompted in part by my experiences during the pandemic lockdown. We reflect our identities with and through?others. Given this, I’m interested in how the changes imposed to our personal interactions with?work colleagues - caused by enforced homeworking (in the case of office-base workers like myself) -?have impacted our sense of ‘who we are.’

That very question, about ‘who we are,’ is a complex and nuanced one. Our personal identity is?multi-faceted, contextual, and dynamic, I would contend. Many people draw upon their professional status and related interactions to construct a sense of self. Think about how you would answer a question asking,?‘what do you do?’ –?many of us would instantly reach for words that describe our roles and contributions in the context of the workplace. ‘I work for X organisation’ or ‘I run my own business doing Y.’

But, of course, identity is richer and more complex than describing who pays the rent!

As a regular speaker on equality, diversity, and inclusion, I’m often asked to introduce myself by?describing who I am to an audience. Depending on the context, this might entail words such as: NHS manager, organisation leader, inclusion champion, LGBT+ role model, charity trustee, local politician (all labels that can apply to me today). Alternatively, and again context-driven, I might choose additional or alternative labels to describe my self-identity, such as: cisgender, male, state-educated, British, white, husband, brother, uncle, nephew, privileged.

Lockdown, home-working and (now) hybrid-working have, I think, blurred the boundaries around our multi-faceted self-identities.

Lockdown, home-working and (now) hybrid-working have, I think, blurred the boundaries around our multi-faceted self-identities. Increasingly our ‘professional selves’ have become evident in our?homes through seemingly endless work interactions played out on MS Teams or Zoom from our living rooms or kitchens. Even those who are lucky enough to enjoy a dedicated space for homeworking?will, I’m sure, recognise this phenomenon.

Conversely, by engaging with work colleagues on our computer or mobile screens from home inevitably pulls our self-identity in the other direction, too. Think about the discreetly positioned (or in some cases, deliberately positioned) family portrait on display behind the shoulder of a work colleague during a video call. Or the fleeting view of a partner in the background. To what extent might that invite a comment or question as part of your online interaction with a work colleague?–?appropriate or otherwise?

Extrinsic attributes of our identity, such as family photos or children’s artwork stuck to the fridge?door, might serve to reinforce the self-identity we project onto others. But what about aspects of our self-identity which are less visible to, or indeed hidden from others, especially our work?colleagues? Think about the ‘happily married’ co-worker who faces a private struggle to adjust to?being single after their partner has walked out on them; or a colleague who is not ‘out’ at work with?regards their sexual orientation while happily co-habiting and enjoying a wide circle of LGBT+ friends.

I have been ‘out’ as a gay man throughout my professional and public careers. To me, this?represents an important part of my identity. Today I am a recognised LGBT+ role model and provide support across Whitehall as a registered mentor to the civil service LGBT+ mentoring scheme and?serve as my local authority’s LGBT+ lead member. But I make no judgements about those whose?private lives remain private. In fact, I would go further by voicing my respect for individuals in such circumstances. And I say that against a backdrop of increasingly antagonistic and at times vitriolic invective aimed at people who choose to adopt different positions on social issues, often for reasons that may be less visible to others such as deeply held beliefs.

For employers, it’s incumbent on them to be mindful to the issues around people’s self-identity thrown up by continued hybrid working.

For employers, it’s incumbent on them to be mindful to the issues around people’s self-identity thrown up by continued hybrid working. And I would go further, given people’s varying responses?during the pandemic, with some individuals embracing change while others wishing to cling onto old certainties. Such paradoxes will, I think, play out differently in terms of workers wishing to bring even more of themselves into the (home) workplace or continuing to adopt contrasting personas while transacting with work colleagues compared to how they live their private lives?– ‘private’ being?the operative word here.

Like many organisations, my own employer, NHS Resolution, has taken a pragmatic approach to organising for hybrid working, including asking individuals for their preferences of home versus office working in the future. We have also developed some practical guidelines to help ensure that, regardless of location, people in a hybrid meeting are fully included in discussions and decision- making. This is about smart use of technology and introducing protocols to embrace inclusion of all those taking part in a meeting.

Building on this, I think there’s now an opportunity?for employers to view hybrid working through the lens of diversity and inclusion. As a manager, I have learnt a great deal during the pandemic?about different individuals’ contrasting situations at home, including the struggles faced by some?workers due to the limitations of their physical home-working environments.

As someone who is concerned about social justice, evidenced through the professional and volunteer roles I have undertaken during my career, I want to go further in this regard. I wish to challenge myself and others to be mindful of how individuals may adopt different self-identities in different contexts, including work versus home. Asking ourselves why this might be the case can help us to gain a richer understanding of different dimensions to self-identity and the people we work alongside, while being mindful that employees should expect to be shown respect and discretion.

This article first appeared on equalityleaders.com

(c) Ian Adams 2022