Remote Workers: The New Second Class Citizens
The Challenge of Remote Work Models
While the pandemic brought about remote work with shorter commutes, it also caused potentially unhealthy consequences such as the “pandemic posture” and “pandemic 15” (15 extra pounds), both of which come from a sedentary lifestyle. While the mental implications of the pandemic are documented, the consequences for the physical implications will be unfolding for years to come, including the impact hybrid work creates.
Hybrid work can be broken into two categories: flexible hybrid, where employees work from home and the office interchangeably throughout the week, and a fixed hybrid, where certain employees are always in the office, and other employees work remotely with no change in their location throughout the week.
Remote workers have experienced a rise in microaggressions, limitations to career advancement, lack of clear work expectations, and even exclusions, purposeful or accidental, from important meetings and discussions. These limitations go beyond simple office social drama. Variable and unpredictable work conditions can increase stress, burnout, and disengagement.
In addition, microaggressions and exclusion can lead to mental health issues. While the top reason remote workers leave their positions is burnout, questions like “how will I be judged” and “how will my career be impacted” remain, creating additional stress. Add to this the physical impact of a newly sedentary lifestyle where remote workers have cut their mobility by over 50%. In addition, it can be difficult on a video monitor to recognize remote workers' skills, including their leadership capabilities and suitability for promotion. Assessment via Zoom is limited. Leadership selection and development in a new hybrid environment must address these shortfalls.
“The two main challenges with remote work are lack of communication and loneliness” - Josh Little, Founder and CEO of Volley
Special Case: Women in the Remote Workforce
Recent polls indicate women want to work remotely at a rate of 10% more than men. The benefits they anticipate include a better work-life balance, more control over their time, and more fulfilling family life. A recent survey showed that 19% of women do not want to return to in-person work compared to 7% of men. Among women, 26% are more likely to apply for remote positions. The pandemic only increased these tendencies, creating stress and role pressures—for instance, mothers working from home or remote shoulder a disproportionate majority of home and childcare responsibilities. At the same time, the daycare industry has suffered financial challenges during the great resignation, making it more difficult to find quality care at an affordable cost, thus increasing family and financial stressors.
Women left the workforce four times that of men at the beginning of the pandemic, leading to the first workforce recession for women. More than one-third of the women who left the workforce during the early days of the pandemic have not returned, and 25% of women in the workforce are considering downsizing their careers or leaving the workforce altogether.
The multiple disadvantages of women working remotely or as part of a fixed hybrid environment include a decrease in access to mentoring and networking opportunities, which influence career advancement; a generalized (yet incorrect) assumption that all remote workers are less committed to their work, especially if they have children; increased instances of being ignored and overlooked during remote meetings; increased incidents of microaggression; and increased childcare pressures disproportionate to their male counterparts. Taken together, these effects could impede career advancement among women for decades. All these influences are seriously impacting healthcare, which is historically dependent on the female workforce. The number of women in the workforce has regressed to that found in the 1980s.
Steps Leaders Can Take to Address the Issues
It is incumbent on leaders to carefully study the dynamics of this workforce shift. Managers should create and maintain balance in their hybrid environment. They should encourage employees to speak up in meetings, create opportunities for everyone to be heard, encourage in-office employees to yield to distant participants, and allow remote employees to provide input. At the same time, upper management should consider which style of the hybrid workplace will be more beneficial for their employees and the company to develop policies that will optimize the chosen workforce design.
Leaders should ensure remote workers are considered for all advancement opportunities, offer meetings at times convenient for all, and set an example by working remotely. To improve the physical constraints imposed on remote workers, leaders must normalize mental health variables, intentionally connect with their remote workers to monitor their needs, use clear communication to share their expectations, and make external support resources, such as mental health services, available to the entire workforce in a way that can be accessed conveniently. These policies should be revisited often to ensure they are up-to-date and optimally effective as we continue to expand the remote workforce.