According to the researchers, the obligation to return to the office may harm women and underrepresented workers, who are more likely to avoid companies that do not offer flexibility. As more companies jump on the five-day-a-week bandwagon, workplace experts and researchers warn that inflexible policies can derail efforts to recruit and retain underrepresented workers and reduce diversity in organizations over time.
The debate over whether flexible or rigid office working is better for productivity and collaboration continues, but more and more companies are withdrawing remote work options introduced during the pandemic. Amazon became the first major tech company to mandate a five-day-a-week walkthrough, but it has been joined by other major companies such as UPS and Goldman Sachs. JPMorgan Chase, Boeing, Dell and The Washington Post also announced plans to require some employees to return to the office five days a week. (Amazon founder Jeff Bezos owns The Washington Post.)
The change in direction led to employee protests, and many resigned from these companies. Some researchers who study telecommuting and workplace productivity say that workplace regulations have the greatest negative impact on underrepresented workers, such as women and those with medical conditions. “The workforce will become less diverse,” said Prithwiraj Choudhury, a Harvard Business School professor who studies telecommuting, adding that companies also risk losing top performers. “There will be more men in companies.” According to research published by Gartner and McKinsey in 2024 and 2022, the mandatory walk-in will most adversely affect women. In a 2024 study published by the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, startup job market researchers found that changing a job opening to telecommuting increased female applicants by 15 percent and minority applicants by 33 percent.
The emphasis on personal work at Amazon became clear last year after the company mandated three days a week in the office. A former senior software engineer at Amazon Web Services – who spoke on condition of anonymity so as not to jeopardize his new job – said he was granted a temporary exemption. As the end of her exemption approached, the mother of two with more than 20 years of software experience was faced with a choice: move her family to the other side of the country to work in an office where she would be the only one on her team, or find a new job. Even then, he felt that his team’s absence from the office was being used against him by some executives, he said. “I’m sad it’s over, but there’s nothing I can do at this point,” he said, adding that he wasn’t surprised Amazon increased the mandate to five days this year. “Moving is not something I’m willing to do for any amount of money. “
So he gave up the high salary, the big projects and the stock packages and looked for work elsewhere. It took him months to come to terms with his decision, he said. With her departure, the organization not only lost a rare senior female engineer, but also a leader with a strong, distinctive voice who had the potential to become a chief engineer, said her manager, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal. “This was a big loss for me personally and for my team,” the executive said. “Amazon says everything about diversity, but when it was forced, it didn’t really do anything to protect it.”
But the companies say the research is wrong. When they switched from telecommuting to hybrid last year, according to an Amazon spokesperson, attrition did not increase. He also pointed to a workforce report that shows a slight increase in the number of women and diverse workers between 2022 and 2023. Goldman Sachs reports similarly marginal growth in 2022 and 2023. “The effects of reversing flexible policies will only show over time,” Choudhury said. “The decrease in diversity first appears among job candidates, while the turnover of employees may take more time,” he added.
“Many flexi-work companies are benefiting from the decision by large companies to force people back into the office,” said Brian Elliott, CEO of Work Forward, an executive consultancy on the future of work. Elliott said he believes the loss of female and minority workers could have financial consequences. “Diversity is tied to innovation,” he said. “People with diverse perspectives bring new ideas and show monocultural blind spots.”
Pinterest allows workers to choose where to work in jobs that can be done anywhere. According to the company’s statement, in the week immediately following the Amazon office mandate, they experienced a 90 percent increase in job applications. A few weeks later, applications returned to normal levels. “My first thought when I saw they were going to be back in the office five days a week was, ‘This is an opportunity for us,'” said Sara Phillips-Broadhurst, director of HR strategy and innovation at Pinterest. “Flexibility is a differentiator.” for us. We can really pick the best people for our positions, and once they join Pinterest, they usually stay.” Since implementing its flexible working model, the company has been able to hire more talent and women, and 68 percent of its employees and 63 percent of its women work outside of the company’s California headquarters.
Even part-time telecommuting can give some workers a break from microaggressions and having to hide their identity in the workplace, according to some workers. Originally from South Asia, Jaya Mallik now runs her own consulting firm, but previously worked for large technology companies. She said she regularly had to defend herself against doubts about her decisions, far more often than her white or male colleagues. In addition, he often “code-switched,” meaning he adapted his language and behavior to his environment, and hid his identity so he wouldn’t be the target of jokes. “I’ve never worked in a psychologically safe environment,” said the 39-year-old man, who lives in the suburbs of Seattle. But in 2020, after experiencing the benefits of telecommuting, including being able to care for her daughter with medical complications, she said she would never work from an office full-time again.
Some workers find ways to create flexibility out of necessity. Francisca Brown, 53, started her own business because her previous employer didn’t provide the flexibility she needed to care for her mother, who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Although he left out of necessity, he gained many unexpected advantages. “There was a whole part of me missing,” she said, adding that as a woman of color, she felt she had to constantly prove herself worthy of her work. “It made me curious about the world again.” He said if he were to ever join another company full-time, he would prioritize hybrid work.
Remote work, which was widely launched during the pandemic, provided those who work in home care as a “second job” the opportunity to take care of their loved ones. Barbara Murphy takes care of her son, who has autism and other health complications, but quit in 2023 because her company no longer allowed her to be near her son when needed. “I absolutely would have stayed there if I had been given more flexibility,” said the 50-year-old. “But I just couldn’t. I was just worrying every day, hoping she wouldn’t have a seizure.” She now works for an employer that allows her to telecommute. .
Strict office regulations come at a price, said Caitlin Duffy, senior research director at Gartner’s HR practice. “My biggest concern is that all the benefits of more flexible working will go untapped,” he said. into the organization and understand them.
Source: sg.hu
