How Can We Make Work From Home Fair for Everyone?

5 ways we can make work from home fair for everyone

Last week we wrote an article about the reality of working from home. ‍

Today we are proposing solutions in making remote or hybrid work better for people. Read on and tell us what you think.

As people are reluctant to get back to the office and prefer working fully or partially from home, we need to discuss how to improve their work conditions.

Key Takeaways

Paid parental leave.
Subsidised child care.
Close gender and racial pay gaps.
Focus on productivity, not hours logged.
Promote people who work from home equally.
Be clear about remote work expectations.

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Paid parental leave

Giving employees paid parental leave would make it so that both parents would learn how to care for their children so that the burden doesn't fall as unfairly on just one parent. \

It's also important that the amount paid parental leave compensates parents is near to all of the wages they would lose out on, to make sure both parents take it. Both parents, have to learn how to care for children.

"My research shows once they're spending time with their kids at an early age, right off the bat, they want to be involved," says Gayle Kaufman, a professor of sociology at Davidson College.

"That affects how they approach their life, including work, so they start making decisions about work based on their family lives, just as mothers have done."

Subsidised child care

Child care, especially for young children, exists in a patchwork fashion in the US.

Affordable and accessible child care is necessary to keep both parents but especially women from doing a disproportionate amount of it themselves while they work.

Close gender and racial pay gaps

If everyone were paid as much as men traditionally do, their work would be less likely to play second fiddle.

"Closing gender and racial wage gaps is essential to building an equitable economy and addressing the barriers that have long hampered women from fully participating in the labor force," according to a White House fact sheet on the administration's pay equity initiative issued on March 15, 2022.

Focus on productivity, not hours logged

To make sure no one aren't punished for remote work, employers must measure work by the work itself — not how long they spend doing it.

"We're still measuring productivity in terms of inputs, not outputs, meaning we're overly fixated on 'can you get in a car and drive and sit at this desk where I can watch you work' as opposed to focusing on great output of work," Krivkovich said.

"What you see with women, in part because of the pressures they feel around all the other responsibilities they hold outside of the workplace, is that breaking that assumption is just hugely valuable to them."

Promote people who work from home equally

Make sure there's not a two-tier system that preferences those who can show up in the office more.

As Van Bommel put it, "Tracking who's getting advancement opportunities, who's getting promotions, sponsorship, stretch assignments, to ensure that there's equity regardless of people's location, is really critical to countering that bias towards face time."

Be clear about remote work expectations

If working from home is going to work for everyone, it's important that there are clear boundaries around how and when employees are expected to communicate, lest the flexibility of remote work results in more work.

"I think if it's clear that you're not supposed to work at night, not supposed to work on weekends, any more than you were before," Jacobs said, "that's going to disproportionately benefit women."