How Remote Work Created an Equity Imperative

The long shadow of COVID-19 over last month’s HR Transform conference was prevalent in surprising ways. There we were, mostly unmasked and in person, going through the motions as if it was 2019, comfortable in the routine but aware of the novelty of an “in real life” experience. For people who work with people, like those in Human Resources, People Strategies, or Employee Experience, coming back to meet in person felt like palpable relief.

Since our team at 18 Coffees has been working increasingly closely with HR departments, I went to observe a function that has been at the center of some of the fastest business transformations of the last century. One could see it in the explosion of tech vendors serving the industry. Digital transformation may have come slowly to HR, but it is in full force now, after two years of setting up remote workforces.

But what I found most interesting was the continued emphasis on worker expectations around equity and inclusion. On panels like “Workplace Equity: Compensation Strategy,” “Health Equity, Inclusivity, and the Talent War,” and “From Cancel Culture to Community Accountability,” HR leaders took stock of progress to date creating workplaces that work for everyone. Many found it lacking.

Torin Perez, a DEI Consultant, put it bluntly on a panel called “DEI: Sustaining Effort and Change”: “A lot of leaders use the word equity … and have no idea what the word means.”

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that conversations about equity are rising to the forefront just as our work is disaggregating from physical locations. Being in the same office forced a sort of monolithism on workplaces. Cultural norms were reinforced through everyday interactions. Without those day-to-day reinforcement mechanisms, the experiences of marginalized people within that monolithic culture became more apparent. The individualization of work created more emphasis on the unequal experiences of each individual.

This dynamic creates added pressure for leaders to do both the short-term work of culture building in a remote environment, and the long-term work of creating more equitable workforces.

In the short-term, our team has found value with our clients using tools like Team Member on a Page to open conversations about working styles, meeting preferences, and especially life outside of work; and Team Charters to help air expectations about how teams will function and how team members will be included in remote or hybrid environments.

But the long-term work of creating more equitable work environments takes more sustained attention—and if we’re honest, may never be finished. Building more equitable hiring and promotion practices, training leaders to see with a DEI lens, and creating safe spaces, like Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), for the experiences of marginalized people to be heard are decent places to start. But eventually, the work of equity will have to extend to the products and services we provide, the tools and vendors we choose to use, the direct and indirect impacts of our businesses on the communities we operate in.

Work is not a place was a paradigm shift, and we adjusted our plans accordingly. I’m hopeful that we’re on the cusp of another one that will shift our strategic thinking: equity is more than just an HR problem.