Along with many of our clients, Gild Collective is beginning the transition back to in-person work. With several in-person workshops scheduled this June, the trend for companies returning to some amount of in-person work is clear.
With this comes the question of how gender bias will evolve with the “new normal” (an eye roll-inducing phrase, but a reality nonetheless.)
Here’s what we know:
Working women have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic
Remote / hybrid work is here to stay
Some organizations are beginning to return to in-person work
As the transition to in-person work begins, how can each of us—regardless of role—push back against the negative impacts on women caused by the pandemic, and avoid new ones?
If you are an individual contributor:
Support your co-workers and teams, especially with new forms of stress and burnout. The pandemic has thrust many of your colleagues into a state of burnout, and perhaps you are also feeling it yourself. While the challenges may change with the transition to in-person work, the feelings of stress and burnout will likely persist for a while. Even if you are experiencing burnout yourself, you can make a conscious effort to take a team-based approach to encouraging self-care and realistic boundary setting. You can express your appreciation for your co-workers and give grace and flexibility where it is due. Something as simple as acknowledging that you don’t expect an immediate response to an email (especially one sent off-hours) can go a long way in reminding your teammates that they, like you, don’t need to be “always on.”
If you are a manager:
Set the tone for flexible work and remember to check your biases around presenteeism. The need for you as a manager to set expectations around flexible work will continue through this transition, and the importance of modeling these behaviors will remain critical. A new consideration is how “presenteeism” may influence your existing biases. Do you naturally assume that your direct reports who are in the office are more dedicated or harder working? Do you question a remote employee’s dedication if they are still managing caregiving responsibilities? Who is getting pulled into impromptu conversations that may end up benefiting careers, and who is getting the ‘schmoozing advantage’ that comes from in-person relationship development? By being mindful of the potential biases and assumptions that may come up for you, you can proactively work against biases by putting structures in place and holding your team accountable to them.
If you are a people leader:
Track the data, listen, and respond. Knowing all we know about how women have been impacted by the pandemic, make efforts to ensure they don’t continue to be on the receiving end of inequity in the workplace. Look specifically at the stats for your organization—over the past year, who left, who stayed and what work do you have to do to return to (or reach for) equal representation? Beyond the numbers, invite your employees to share their challenges as they change and evolve over the next year and respond by developing and refining policies that support flexibility, productivity and mental health.
If you are an executive:
Get in touch with your employee experiences—which may be different from your own. Recent research from Microsoft uncovered that “many business leaders are faring better than their employees. Sixty-one percent of leaders say they are “thriving” right now — 23 percentage points higher than those without decision-making authority.” What is often happening is that while leaders are seeing high levels of productivity, employees are feeling overworked and exhausted. By knowing your people better, you can design a hybrid work environment that actually works for everyone. It will include some trial, error and evolution, but designing with people in mind will provide the best chance of success.
This upcoming transition will be a long one, filled with ups and downs. Starting with intention and awareness of the hurdles we’re still hopping and those that are around the bend will allow us all to play our part in supporting gender equity as we enter this next chapter.