Irish firms' desire to get workers back in the office could delay gender equality by a generation
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Four years on from the greatest remote work experiment we were all catapulted into thanks to a global pandemic, and we are still re-adjusting to post-covid idiosyncrasies in the workplace and attempting to find that sweet spot where employees, in a tight labour market, and employers can live in productive harmony.
For many, working for traditionally inflexible employers, the opportunity to work remotely post-covid in a hybrid scenario was a revelation. Now, one could skip the mind-numbing commute, be more productive (statistically proven) and have a better work-life balance.
As we settled into a hybrid model which seemed to suit most people and companies, it seemed for many, that they had won the work jackpot and that the covid cloud had at least one silver lining. However, many employers are now having second thoughts and are mandating a full return to the office.
A recent survey from EmployFlex indicated that all things being equal, 92% of employees would move from their current role for more flexibility in another position.
In a tight labour market, one would think that employers would be offering more flexibility in order to obtain and retain the best people, yet the reverse is true and an estimated 90% of companies globally (survey by Resume Builder) want bums back on seats onsite full time, citing productivity, collaboration and employee engagement as their main drivers.
From an Equality Diversity and Inclusion perspective, companies who are prioritising outcomes over physical presence, have the potential to mitigate gender disparities in the workplace.
Women, and particularly mothers grappling with the motherhood penalty, who may have previously faced barriers to advancement due to inflexible work arrangements and caregiving responsibilities now have greater opportunities to demonstrate their skills and contribute meaningfully to their organisations. It is worth noting that the motherhood penalty accounts for 80% of the gender pay gap in Ireland and globally.
In one week recently, recruitment firm Employflex received 18 calls over two days from people who are being called back full-time into the office. In this instance, all of the callers were mothers who had been given the option to work in a hybrid model, now being forced back to work full-time onsite.
While hybrid work has shattered the traditional 9-to-5 paradigm, allowing employees to blend their professional and personal lives, taking this away now may result in the biggest female brain drain we have seen from the workplace. People will eventually vote with their feet and opt for the more flexible employer, or leave the workplace altogether.
I think this is a chance for indigenous Irish SMEs to gain a competitive advantage and offer authentic flexible work and attract the best talent. SMEs can use this opportunity to forge their culture of inclusivity by offering genuine flexible work now.
We’ve just celebrated International Women’s Day and with all this corporate collective back-slapping and positive female cheerleading going on around IWD, one would think we are doing a wonderful job on Equality and Diversity.
However, the fact is that in 2023, nearly nine out of every 10 companies in Ireland (87%) disclosed a gender pay gap in favour of males, with 71% of firms disclosing a pay gap above 5% and 48% having a gap above the 2019 average of 11.3%. Women, who were disproportionally affected by covid, are still scrambling to get back to pre-covid levels of participation in the workplace.
The cost to women's possibilities has pushed gender equity into the future by a whole generation. According to the Global Gender Gap Report 2022, the gender gap will not close for another 132 years.
Women in positions of leadership are leaving at an unprecedented rate. According to the Women in the Workplace 2022 report from Lean In and McKinsey & Co, the reasons are due to companies failing to satisfy the expectations of female leaders. These standards include a workplace that prioritises flexibility, employee well-being, and diversity, equity and inclusion.
We cannot fix the gender pay gap without addressing the reasons why women are leaving the workplace — it’s not possible to helicopter women in at senior level to assuage gender quotas, if they simply are not there. If companies are serious about gender equality, they need to offer flexible work.
The latest directive on the right to request flexible work, while very welcome, gives employers too much wiggle room to avoid it.
Really, it doesn’t matter what the company policies or the law says, the culture of an organisation will prevail and if employees can see people progressing because they are always working, always in the office, there is going to be a deep chasm of a gender divide.
- Karen O’Reilly is the founder of Employflex and Employmum