Flexible is equitable
Is remote work more productive? That’s the wrong question. In the ongoing debate around Return to Office mandates, there is one undeniable fact that we aren’t talking about enough:
The vast majority of employees want some kind of flexible work arrangement, so the real question is: Why does Corporate America refuse to accommodate them?
McKinsey’s 2022 American Opportunity Survey revealed that nearly 90% of employees will take the opportunity for flexible work arrangements if they are offered. That means it's not just slackers who want it. Top employees do, too. Women are often saddled with additional considerations and responsibilities beyond their jobs, whether breastfeeding, childcare, elder care, and even day-to-day household management like cooking and cleaning. They also suffer more autoimmune diseases, and migraine headache syndromes. And of course there’s also sexual harassment at work. Additionally, women incur higher costs for maintaining the “dress for success” look that in-office work requires. Sometimes the choice for women is remote work or no work at all.
Remote work isn’t just a benefit to women, however. In a post titled “Remote Work Is Great for Equity, Diversity,” Forbes author Cynthia Watson notes that remote work levels the playing field for workers outside of major metro areas, like those in small towns and rural areas, as well as for people who are less able to commute for whatever reason. The New York Times also found that employees with disabilities found 12% more employment since the pandemic due to remote work.
Black employees have longer commute times because they often live further from the office. They may also have less generational wealth and parental financial support, so the costs of commuting may hit them harder. Flexible work commitments can allow a company to strategically target recruiting pools from historically Black areas of the country and provide opportunities they may otherwise not be able to take advantage of.
Standards for dress and appearance in-office also hit Black women hardest because those standards are rooted in White culture. Most white people - let alone C-Suite executives - likely have never considered how it must feel to have been told one’s natural hair is “unprofessional” and then to be subjected to unwanted hair touching at the office by co-workers. And that is just the beginning of the microaggressions our Black coworkers must endure.
My book NSFW: A good manager’s guide to creating better-feeling work in a toxic culture is out this fall! I cover everything that’s wrong in Corporate America and provide a plan for how we can fix it. Sign up for my newsletter to stay up to date.
