Surely flexible working and WFH is a step forward for everyone. We can stop wasting time on commuting and get more work done.
We can integrate a work and family life in the way we choose. At last, women can have it all.
So why, amongst the celebrations, do I feel uneasy? Why shouldn’t we be able to be location-agnostic? Why should the office reign supreme?
For those men and women, parents or not, who want to spend more time out of the office, I support you. You should not in any way be disadvantaged for your choice.
However, along with all the positives – and there are many, this is also what I see:
- More women than men in comparable jobs working from home
- Women spending more hours WFH than men
- Women spending some of their time looking after kids while working (why spend money on childcare when you’re at home anyway, right?)
- Mothers WFH being less available for meetings/collaboration after 3pm.
- Women working late into the evening to make up for time spent with kids when they get home from school (not healthy).
- Important, ad-hoc interactions happening in the office while women are working from home.
- Women having greater difficulty getting their points across on Zoom than F2F because it requires a more robust engagement style
While many companies try to rectify this, the workplace is an uneven playing field with regard to career progression.
Most key decisions and business relationships happen in the office.
I’m concerned. Amongst the joy and relief of working flexibly, I see women slipping into domestic roles they may not have specifically chosen.
And by doing so, missing out on being top of mind for opportunities at work. Out of sight, out of mind.
What do you think we can do to help women avoid any unintentional slipping back into domestic roles and fading from sight of promotion opportunity?
