The hybrid workplace is not just a trend anymore. Now, it's something companies all over the world try to implement and make work. But it can be harder as it seems.
Studies show that more women with young children than men have asked for more flexibility to work remotely post-Covid-19. And if their managers are not fully up to speed to handle employees working remote, then the women working remote will easily be forgotten, if they are not as visible in the office space.
They miss out on the reflections after the meeting at the coffee machine and the casual small talk at the working desks, and because of that, they can potentially also miss out on promotions and new career opportunities, that will be granted to the visible co-worker in the office instead.
In this episode of WORK 3.0, Liam Martin, founder of Time Doctor.com and Staff.com, and co-author of the book: Running Remote, and Emelie Fågelstedt, Digital Communications Specialist and Co-founder of Swedish Nomads, discuss what can be done to prevent this potential gender gap from happening, and whether the hybrid workplace eventually will fail.
Who's Responsible?
The big question is, of course, who's responsible for making sure the hybrid workplace can work, and that everyone who deserves it gets the right promotion or career opportunities: The employees themselves or the managers?
As an employee, you can do the following, Emelie Fågelstedt says:
"A lot of people started working remotely during the pandemic, and managers aren't really used to what that means. (...) But there are, of course, some things you can do. The first thing I'd say is to bring it to the manager's attention. Start talking with all the managers, but also the colleagues at your company to try to establish a new status quo when it comes to where work is done and how work is valued."
Liam Martin agrees that it's important to get it to the manager's attention:
"Managers will be more interested in moving the ideas of people forward that are closer to them than farther away. This is something that's happened since remote work became a thing, and this is something that both managers and employees need to fight against."
However, both Liam and Emelie also have ideas about how managers can own up to their responsibility and create change in the hybrid workplace. But it can be hard because managers need to change mindsets.
An important point here is that if managers say that remote is okay, then they should also be a good example, and work remotely too to create a new culture where remote is just as good as in-office work.
What Can Be Done to Prevent the New Potential Gender Gap?
You find the podcast and listen in your favorite podcast player right here, where you also can hear about the following:
- The current stats about who wants to work remote
- Consequences of having an office in-group and remote out-group
- Asynchronous management
- Action points to make the hybrid workplace work for all employees