Why is hybrid work still being questioned? Did we learn nothing during the pandemic?

The lack of acceptance around this new reality boggles the mind. In my opinion, remote work, especially for women, is one of the most significant advancements we’ve made in the workplace in decades. It demonstrates that businesses need to remain attuned to the needs of their team members for organizations to thrive and retain talent.

THE FLEXIBILITY FACTOR
In 2020, the pandemic resulted in many women having to step away from their jobs, as noted in an August 2, 2020 article on 19th News (“America’s First Female Recession”). More than half of the working women who left the workforce at this time attributed their departure to childcare costs and kids being home from school. The same year, female unemployment reached double digits for the first time since the Bureau of Labor Statistics began tracking women in the workplace, according to BLS Reports in March 2022 (“Women in the Labor Force: a Databook”).
This outcome was a disaster for our workforce and for women’s financial independence and wellness. In fact, as Ellevest revealed in October 2021, 49% of women said that their mental health has suffered at the hands of financial stress (“Money Stress Is Hurting Women’s Overall Health”). It was also damaging to the U.S. economy since women control the majority of household spending and are the main influencers on how family income is spent. While the most recent statistics show that women in the past three years have recovered the loss of jobs from 2020, not all workers have had equal access to that changed workplace landscape, according to a September 2023 article on 19th News {“The Women’s Recession Is Finally Over—but Not Everyone Has Recovered Equally”). Writer Chabeli Carrazana notes, “Black women, in particular, have recovered more slowly considering how hard they were hit by job loss at the start of the pandemic.” This is why flexibility is so important for everyone. When given the time and space to manage their lives, often filled with caretaking and household responsibilities, as well as their work, women perform and deliver with aplomb.

MATERNITY LEAVE
In my experience, this remains particularly true when women take maternity leave, something our entire society needs to celebrate and respect more. As women come back from maternity or personal leave, we need to offer both flexibility and opportunity. When companies or managers do this, women thrive. As a leader in the legal sector, I often promoted women who were on maternity leave or had just returned because of their extraordinary results and commitment. Working remotely is a mammoth motivator, and I can’t imagine why anyone would pass over someone worthy of advancement or demote or fire them just because they had a baby, were on leave, or were working more from home. It’s inequitable, unfair, and a waste of high-performing talent.
For new or less-experienced team members, remote work should have more structure. Scheduling regular check-ins as well as one-on-one face time with their supervisors is critical throughout their tenure. This kind of framework provides the direction and mentoring needed for team members to be successful and keeps their onboarding running smoothly beyond their first few weeks in a job.

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