THE DIVERSITY CHALLENGES OF WFH AND HYBRID WORKING

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Remote working is very much a topic for the post-pandemic world. We all recognize that COVID-19 pushed a huge number of the world’s workforce to remote working, and while many offices have encouraged at least a partial return to in-office work, hybrid and remote working are certainly here to stay. Around a quarter of workers in the UK now have hybrid setups.

In many ways, remote working seems like a great opportunity for the diversification of the workforce. If we cannot see our coworkers and organizations are basing their hiring practices on remote interviews rather than in-person ones, there’s a lot of scope to eliminate biases. Many characteristics that can disadvantage candidates at the interview stage, such as being of a different race or nationality, having a visible disability, being pregnant, etc., are hidden by long-distance hiring processes.

However, in the rush to move toward online work and the excitement surrounding hybrid working, many people fail to recognize the disadvantages that remote work can bring to equality efforts. Realizing what drawbacks there are can help organizations minimize them - so let’s spend a bit of time exploring these.

Reduced face-time with mentors & superiors

A particularly obvious drawback of working from home is the reduced face time that you get with those on your team and others within your organization. While some prefer this approach because they don’t enjoy interactions with others, it has some undeniable disadvantages. The most obvious is that if you’re in the office less than your peers, you are not going to be able to benefit from interactions with potential mentors or with your superiors.

It has been noted that remote work is more likely to be taken up by mothers and disabled individuals than child-free, able-bodied people. This is because it offers greater flexibility, meaning these individuals can work while dealing with their other commitments. While that’s good news in some ways, because it allows them to stay in the workforce, it can be a double-edged sword. If these people aren’t in the office as much as their peers, they are far more likely to be overlooked in a myriad of ways.

Firstly, we’ve got the lost opportunities for mentorship. A huge amount can be learned at work via osmosis; people collect knowledge of how to behave, what to say, and acceptable ways to interact by watching others. With work-from-home roles, these learning opportunities are far fewer.

Next, there’s the issue of promotions. Very often, being present in the office is more likely to be equated with being a hard worker and therefore being worthy of promotions. There’s a long-standing perception that remote workers don’t work as hard, and although the pandemic has done a huge amount to change this, it’s certainly still pervasive in many offices across the world.

This means that remote workers may be more likely to struggle to get promotions, bonuses, and other benefits… and if a greater percentage of remote workers are minority groups, who are already at a disadvantage in these areas, there’s a huge risk of increasing the disparity.

It’s not allowing minorities to bring their full selves to work

There’s a lot to be said for remote work sidestepping biases, but it’s important for us to recognize that it isn’t actually getting rid of the bias. It’s just working around it. Why?

Well, let’s take somebody who is disabled. They are more comfortable with remote work because it means they don’t have to deal with coworkers asking questions about their disability, and they can avoid teamwork events that might draw attention to it. They don’t have to fear discrimination in the workplace and they can keep their disability mostly or even entirely hidden.

That’s good news in some ways... but not at the most fundamental level, because ultimately, these individuals are hiding who they are so that they won’t suffer repercussions at work. We haven’t got rid of the bias here. We’ve just allowed the person to more effectively hide a characteristic that could make them a target of it.

This is enormously problematic because it stops workers from feeling like they can be authentic. It can be alienating and damaging to their mental health, leaving them feeling like they are not valued at work, a place where we all want to feel we are bringing value.

And it seems the problem is widespread! Although no more recent studies have been done, a 2022 report found that 71% of people with disabilities, 65% of people over 55, 64% of LGBTQIA+ people, and 57% of racial minorities have either concealed a part of their identity or lied to hide it, fearing discrimination. While that’s 3 years ago and the picture may have changed somewhat, it’s a clear indication that remote working isn’t really solving our diversity problem; it’s just hiding it. Unfortunately, hiding key elements of who you are can cause major mental health problems and be very damaging to self-esteem and worker relationships.

Remote work also “hides” the diversity problem in some ways. It can be harder to spot when teams are becoming homogenous if they are spread across the country and only connect occasionally on Zoom meetings! It’s easy for diversity to slip off the agenda in this kind of setup.

Of course, none of this means that remote work should be dropped, or that hybrid and remote roles can’t have their value. They can be very beneficial, affording workers more flexibility, more freedom, and more control over their own lives. They can allow individuals who might otherwise be completely unable to work a chance at employment. They can make life better for everybody!

We do, however, need to recognize their limitations and make sure that we aren’t using them as a substitute for strong diversity efforts. Being aware that it can be harder for remote employees to get recognition and not exchanging remote work for strong diversity efforts will help organizations ensure they are still making progress and creating a world that is fairer and more equitable for everyone.

Time to get hands-on!

Remote work has both pros and cons, but the context matters, as every company operates differently. The best approach for organizations is to regularly assess whether remote work creates disparities by using anonymous surveys, pulse checks, or other feedback mechanisms. Gathering insights from employees helps identify challenges. Organizations should then use these findings to adjust relevant policies and address any identified gaps.