While hybrid workplaces are
becoming the norm for many organizations, equitable and inclusive hybrid work
environments are not, and this can cause problems for your team. An equitable
workplace is one where all types of workers have equal and fair access to
opportunities and resources. Historically, equity was only considered in the
context of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). In the post-Covid
return-to-work context, you should consider the hybrid, virtual, and fully
in-person workers and how to ensure an equitable workplace for all three
categories.
Here
are a few characteristics of an equitable workplace:
- An equitable
workplace prioritizes both access to resources and investment in
employees.
- The intention
is to create an even playing field for reward and advancement, regardless
of variables.
- All workers
have the ability to contribute and communicate equally, regardless of
location, role, experience level, language, seen and unseen disabilities,
and/or device preference.
Even when a workplace has equitable remote or hybrid work policies, inclusivity still
needs to be considered. Let’s dive into what is meant by workplace inclusivity.
Inclusivity
Inclusivity means individuals with different identities and
backgrounds are welcomed in a group setting (e.g., company, office, meeting),
and are valued members of the group. Not only does inclusion mean these team
members feel like they belong, but they are also trusted and relied upon to
contribute to the team.
Inclusivity brings many benefits, including creating a bigger talent pool,
increased employee engagement and trust, new perspectives and innovation,
better decision-making, and improved performance. All these benefits together
help generate stronger business results.
Yet building inclusivity in the workplace has its unique challenges. Despite
significant progress, there are still some deep-rooted stereotypes in society.
For example, many believe in gender stereotypes. Additionally, some people tend
to be afraid of interacting with those who may have a different skin color,
race, and/or physical ability. There is also the presence of supremacy
ideology, where some people consider their culture and background to be
superior to others.
We can overcome these challenges by using verbal and non-verbal
inclusion language. Try these tips:
- Avoid boxes. Banish
the binaries of good/bad, right/wrong, gay/straight, black/white, and
us/them.
- Choose your words with
intention. Regarding
gender/sexuality, say “partner” or “significant other” rather than
“husband”, “boyfriend”, “wife”, or “girlfriend.”
- Show ego-distance. Callout
that you have blind spots and that you’re learning.
One of the best ways to promote workplace inclusivity is by learning to be an
ally. An ally is someone who is not a member of an underrepresented group yet
who takes action to support that group. They can be any race, age, gender
identity, function, or organizational level. Typically, they have some sort of
status that enables their allyship actions to be particularly effective. For
example, men can be allies to women/non-binary people, cisgender people can be
allies to their transgender co-workers, white employees can be allies to people
of color and senior leaders can be allies to associate-level employees.
The
Future of Work: Hybrid Workplace
As more and more organizations are shifting to the hybrid model of working,
which mixes in-office and remote work to offer employee flexibility and
support, inclusion can become a challenge?
In a study by Future Forum, Black employees reported less stress
working from home, with 97% of Black knowledge workers saying they want to
remain partially or fully remote for the foreseeable future. Working from home
helps employees with different abilities by improving their health and
productivity.
In addition, lack of close contact may hinder the formation of
trust, connection, and mutual purpose – three key ingredients in effective
working relationships. This leads to proximity bias, a cognitive bias formed on
the “out of sight, out of mind” principle. Proximity bias may lead to
isolation, stress, lack of separation between work and home, and cultural
shifts.
These challenges can be overcome by giving employees regular
recovery breaks, setting a ritual for switching their minds between work and
home, and providing social and mental health support, including Employee
Assistance Programs.
Team collaboration in a hybrid workplace can be promoted by
getting teams and departments to design their hybrid schedules, sharing
information transparently, enabling everyone’s participation, and rewarding
outcomes, not inputs.
Provision of equal access to networks for all employees, making
promotions transparent, and assessing performance on an employee’s ability to
meet their objectives rather than focusing on presenteeism, and making the time
for performance reviews can lead to higher engagement of individual employees.
Tips for creating an
Equitable and Inclusive Hybrid Workplace
Here are some tips to
promote the creation of an equitable and inclusive hybrid workplace:
- Keep everyone
in the loop
- Host dual
in-person and virtual events
- Take routine
pulse surveys to measure sentiment
- Celebrate
wins publicly and encourage recognitions
- Adopt new
strategies for fostering engagement
- Establish
clear communication guidelines
Some other best practices include giving employees the resources to create
effective remote work setups and empowering them to create a flexible work
routine. Finally, managers need to be empowered to work with their team members
to accommodate extenuating circumstances.
We would love to hear from you! How is your organization
creating equitable and inclusive hybrid work environments? How are they driving
your motivation levels and enhancing overall performance?
Leave a comment below, send me an email,
or find me on Twitter.
0 comments:
Post a Comment