Teleworking, flexible schedules benefit women in the workforce and employers: study

Women have been more likely to resign from or lose their jobs during the pandemic, despite evidence that their presence generates a better bottom line and a healthy work environment, new research suggests.

According to a Concordia University study published in a recent issue of the European Journal of Business Management Research, while companies acknowledge that employing women has had a positive effect on their business, employers are not adapting to inclusivity practices that help women stay employed.

The researchers examined dozens of workplace reports and found that many suggested that women were more likely to leave their jobs during the pandemic than men, while also suggesting that losing women in the workforce has a negative effect on company culture, revenue and even global GDP growth.

A 2021 report by RBC cited in the Concordia study, suggests women are 12 times more likely to step away from their jobs to take care of family members, including children or elderly parents.

Pandemic-related layoffs and a move to automation in the workforce have also disproportionately affected women, as well as ethnic minorities, young workers and workers in the LGBTQ2S+ communities, according to a Catalyst study cited by the study's researchers.

And even when women decide to stay at their jobs while taking on the bulk of their household's domestic care, researchers said they often see their careers suffer due to their additional responsibilities at home.

But these losses don't just affect women in the workforce, researchers said. One report by McKinsey research suggests that the global GDP would be $1 trillion lower by 2030 if no action is taken to mitigate job losses for women. The same report also suggests that giving women and minorities access to teleworking technology, as well as the implementation of other equality measures like education and family planning initiatives, could add up to $13 trillion to the global GDP.

Putting inclusivity first, researchers said, will mean that companies should provide flexibility and equal opportunities to all employees.

"Given the social expectations remaining around the role of women, and the additional work they have as family caregivers, teleworking is advantageous in that women can avoid commuting to work, save time, and be at home if ever there is a family situation that urgently demands their attention," researchers said, adding that employees who stay home shouldn't experience disadvantages over those who go into the office and get face-to-face time with their employers.

Researchers also suggest that the implementation of flexible hours that allow workers to choose their own schedule would benefit women taking on the bulk of the domestic work at home, and benefit employers by ensuring that employees are working at times when they can be the most productive and focused.

But while these steps may work for some employees, researchers said that remote work may not be best for every employee, including those with lower incomes who may not have enough space or quiet at home for a dedicated workspace, or who may have technology constraints. Moving into a post-pandemic world, researchers said employers will need to be adaptable.

"Organizations that continue to be understanding of their employees even after the pandemic … will be the ones that can offer women who have been adversely affected by the pandemic a faster return to work, and therefore expand their talent pool for future leadership," researchers said.

And while issues like inequality in the workforce and the transition to automation predate the pandemic and will continue into the future, researchers said the pandemic has expedited and worsened the impact of these issues, and that measures taken to protect workers have not been strong enough.

“If these measures drop off, it will not be a short-term problem,” Shirin Emadi-Mahabadi, one of the co-authors of the study, said in a statement. “In five or 10 years, whenever the next crisis hits, where will we be then?”