How Remote Work Promotes Diversity
How have companies been doing since the shift to remote work in early 2020? According to an American PwC study including 133 executives and 1,200 office employees, the transition has been quite successful and continues to be. When the survey commenced in June 2020, 73% agreed that the shift to remote work was successful for their companies and this statistic increased to 83% in the December 2020 survey.
This pleasant surprise is not the only reason remote work is looking more and more appealing compared to returning to work at the pre-pandemic capacity. Some companies have recognized how helpful keeping this work model is for diversity and inclusion. Here are a few reasons why:
Remote Work Breaks Down Physical Barriers
Location bias is a prevalent problem in employment as hiring managers can be quite biased against applicants with longer commutes. According to the Harvard Business Review, applicants who live five to six miles farther from the workplace receive third fewer callbacks.
Relocation for a job can also deter including more candidates from different backgrounds in the company as it may or may not require a relocation stipend. For example, many low-income students with no means to relocate are disproportionately Black or Hispanic. Black candidates are almost two times more unwilling to relocate for a position if there is no stipend provided than other candidates.
If you look at the most expensive cities in the U.S., you’ll find many metropolitan areas that are home offices to larger establishments and industries. Too many talented workers are priced out of employment in New York, Los Angeles, or San Diego because they cannot find affordable housing or are unwilling to take on hour-long commutes.
Breaking down these physical barriers not only helps the employees and prospective candidates but also the hiring managers. Talent acquisition has a larger pool of potential candidates to choose from, specifically underrepresented candidates. With remote work being an option, recruiters can more easily pitch jobs to relocation-adverse candidates.
Remote Work Ends the Commute
Who misses getting up early to go to work? Commuting can be the most difficult part of a job experience. Hubble HQ conducted a 2020 survey that found 79% of office employees named lack of commute as one of the best things about remote work. Removing these technical obstacles opens up job availability for a wider audience.
Not only does remote work make it easier to hire underrepresented candidates, but it also makes it easier for employees with certain physical challenges to get to the office. Over one-fourth, or 61 million of the U.S. adult population, live with a disability. It is common that people with disabilities often have to pass up employment for a position they qualify for because of challenges related to commuting and/or accessibility within the workplace. So much so that many have been asking for remote work for years.
In an interview with MarketWatch, Robert Kingett, a freelance writer who is also blind, expressed how he didn’t understand the need for on-site meetings.“When I was applying for internships, I was told that I could never work remotely, even if it was for a publishing internship position in the editorial department. I really didn’t understand why. I thought, do I really have to sit in an office to open up email attachments? I don’t get it. Why is this so restrictive? It just didn’t make sense to me.”
The interview also involved other workers with disabilities that advocated for remote work options. This advocacy is further supported by the PwC study previously mentioned as 92% of employees, in general, want remote work options.
Remote Work Makes Employees Feel Safe
In a physical space, LGBTQ+ employees can experience more and different microaggressions and forms of harassment. With 82% of LGBTQ+ women and 76% of LGBTQ+ men overall experiencing microaggressions, remote work may offer a psychological and physical buffer from these experiences. Everyday habits such as going to the bathroom can be a place of anxiety for non-cis-gendered people who may experience harassment from coworkers.
Home can be a place of psychological safety where employees don’t need to stress about a socially unwelcoming workplace. The transition into remote work also puts less pressure on appearance and “looking presentable” which puts less stress on employees who have been harassed for their gender expression. Remote work offers the ability to better manage the professional and personal boundaries employees want to set.
Remote Work Increases Family Time
Remote work has given many opportunities for parents to be more involved in raising their children. According to a FlexJob survey, 62% of working parents said they would quit their current jobs and 48% felt very strongly ("absolutely") they would look for another job that would provide the work-from-home model. Respondents ranked “cost savings” as the second most popular benefit of remote work, next to lack of commute. 38% of respondents estimate they save about $5,000 a year from remote work.
Aside from the financial benefits, remote work can be a better balance for single parents or working moms. Women with child-care needs are 32% less likely to leave their job if they can work remotely. Single parents who can't work from home experienced high degrees of anxiety, balancing all of the necessary everyday demands. With remote work, parents have fewer daily tasks to concern themselves with and can allocate more time and energy to their children.
In Conclusion
According to Owl Labs, companies that offer remote work experience a 25% lower turnover rate. Remote work helps with that goal as it can be a powerful form of talent acquisition, employee benefits, and overall workplace harmony. Not only would offering remote work options support more diversity, but also breaks down barriers that have been expressed in the past for proper inclusion.
While this article has given ample support for a remote workplace, changing up the work models isn’t the end-all-be-all solution. Companies still need to actively work to eliminate bias and discrimination to further promote inclusivity for all workers. Changing to remote work is simply one of the many prominent choices companies can make to better their workplaces and their industry at large.
As businesses develop their game plan for hiring and retaining workers, the team at WHO Staffing continues to recruit candidates from all walks of life. Contact us if you have an open position to fill or check out our current job openings if you’re in the market for a new opportunity.
