When they think about gender inequities in hybrid work, they have to think about it as a design issue, not a policy issue.
By Howard Rabinowitz, Workflow contributor
Throughout the pandemic, Kayla, a senior manager for a healthcare technology company, thrived professionally but struggled to balance work with home and childcare needs. To focus on work, she often had to shut the bedroom door on her partner—a strain that contributed to the couple’s breakup.
Kayla, who spoke to Workflow on condition that her real name is not published, is hardly alone, and her struggle highlights a growing challenge not just for employees but also for chief human resource officers and other senior executives focused on equal treatment of all members of their workforces.
As companies return to the office, many are embracing hybrid work models that allow employees to split work hours between home and the office. But many experts warn that hybrid work can create a two-tier workforce with uneven opportunities for remote and in-office employees, particularly women who may face lack of career advancement or virtual harassment while working remotely. Since surveys indicate that women are still more likely to prefer to work from home, hybrid work policies can disproportionately affect working women.
As a result, business leaders need to recognize ways that hybrid work can worsen gender inequality, and to tailor their approach to reduce that risk. That means better training for managers, more support for remote workers, and digital tools to track employee experiences and career progress for women and men.
When they think about gender inequities in hybrid work, they have to think about it as a design issue, not a policy issue.
“When they think about gender inequities in hybrid work, they have to think about it as a design issue, not a policy issue,” says Janet Mertens, research director at the Josh Bersin Company, a leading HR consulting firm. “It’s an opportunity to design a new paradigm.”
The challenge, as Mertens and other experts suggest, is that there’s no blueprint to follow, and many women have dramatically different experiences and preferences about working styles.
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