Diversity, Equity & Inclusion For Dummies. Dr. Shirley Davis

when allowed more autonomy, because they don’t want to lose this benefit.

      In 2020, a PwC study showed a 52 percent increase in productivity following the shift to remote work as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Workers not only were more productive but also wanted to maintain the ability to work remotely full-time or at least a few days a week when things began to return to normal.

Many companies are now figuring out that working remotely is the future of work — pandemic or not. Some have gone as far as to allow 30 to 50 percent of their workforces to work remotely forever. Others have revised their work-from-home policies to allow for a hybrid workweek such as three days in the office and two from home. A data report by McKinsey & Company suggests that 20 to 25 percent of the workplace in advanced economies across the globe could easily work from home for three or more days a week — that is, if the work doesn’t require being in close proximity to clients and/or colleagues. Employers have come to recognize that remote/virtual working has produced a considerable cost savings for physically based operations.

      

Remote working isn’t a one size fits all solution. Working from home does have some drawbacks. Employees tend to work longer hours when working virtually, and they tend to experience greater levels of isolation, loneliness, and extra interruptions/distractions (from family members, pets, noises in the neighborhood, and weak Internet connections). Leaders have the added responsibility of figuring out how to lead a remote team and how to maintain a sense of belonging, team comradery, and connection.

      The impact diversity, equity, and inclusion

      The COVID-19 pandemic and the increased amount of virtual work that came with it pushed DEI efforts to the forefront. Offering more remote work increased job opportunities for people across all geographic locations. In other words, workers could basically live anywhere to get work done. The ten most expensive cities in the United States tend to be hubs for many sought-after industries, yet the cost of living in those areas greatly limits affordability. Remote work eliminates this economic barrier and also widens the applicant pool. Think about the number of companies that started hiring again following the pandemic and the economic recovery. So many of them no longer required that you live in the same location where the job was posted.

      

A LinkedIn story reports some additional DEI benefits resulting from the shift to remote work:

       No geographic barriers means no relocation costs and no location bias.

       Remote work can promote greater psychological safety for LGBTQ employees.

       Employees with disabilities have no commute and greater access to support.

Although the flexibility of remote work fosters greater inclusivity and diversity, you still need to employ special techniques to keep workers engaged. The Society for Human Resource Management notes six ways to keep remote workers engaged. Consider which of the following you currently demonstrate effectively and consistently:

       Be empathetic: Create a sense of belonging by showing you care about colleagues and managers.

       Encourage participation: Create a communication plan to engage all team members individually and directly, but also learn your team’s communication style to cultivate productive participation during team meetings.

       Create structured team building: Develop games and activities that let you to get to know one another.

       Utilize employee resource groups (ERGs): ERGs can be a source for data collection and ides for inclusive activities.

       Be intentional about talent development: Schedule one-on-one meetings (outside the performance review process schedule) to discuss and plan team members’ goals, interests, and career development areas.

      

Measure and evaluate inclusion efforts: Consistently interact and engage with remote workers to see how the inclusion practices are progressing. This practice is constant and evolutionary. You fix what isn’t working and continue to improve on what is working to keep workers engaged.

Increasingly Digital

      Because people are more and more active on their digital devices, they tend to remain connected to those devices more often. A surge in digital platforms and ecommerce has led to exponential growth in digitization across a number of industries. It will definitely influence how people work, as I explain in the following sections.

      Considering the COVID-19 pandemic’s effects on digitalization

The COVID-19 pandemic was a major contributor to the surge in digitization. The slowdown/shutdown of major economies forced people inside and onto their devices for ordering food and household items, staying connected with family and friends, and even attending events. The pandemic crisis accelerated the rate of digital interactions between consumers and customer service, leading to a shift in product offerings. Across the globe, digital or digitally enhanced product offerings increased ahead of the normal curve thanks to the pandemic-boosted demand for goods and services. And this trend won’t subside as companies look to capitalize off it.

      The shift in this demographic trend isn’t just focused on one locale or region. Between 2018 and 2020, double-digit increases in digital offerings impacted the globe:

       Global digital acceleration: 38 percent

       Asia-Pacific: 24 percent

       Europe: 26 percent

       North America: 40 percent

      This uptick suggests that companies have focused on how they deliver their products through digital platforms as opposed to increasing overall product development. It also implies that digitally based products have increased and will continue to abound in the marketplace.

      These industries most impacted by this digital offering trend experienced double-digit growth in digitization:

       Healthcare (think about the rise in telehealth/web-based video conference doctor appointments)

       Pharmaceutical

       Financial services (think about how more banks widened their digital platforms for service and about the increase in nontraditional banking such as CashApp, Venmo, Chime, and cryptocurrency)

       Professional services

       Hospitality and restaurant industries

      Consumer goods manufacturing and the automotive industry also saw consistent (but smaller-scale) growth.

      Core internal operations such as back-office procedures, production, and research also experienced an increase in digitization and supply chain. Companies also noted that their responses to COVID-19-related changes were 20 to 25 percent faster than expected. And companies moved remarkably quickly to transition to remote working, averaging 11 days to make the shift. Digital connections clearly made this speedy transition possible.

      Examining automation’s and artificial intelligence’s impact on talent and DEI

      Automation and artificial intelligence (AI) are replacing human tasks. This move changes the skills people need to succeed in the workplace. PwC’s Future of Work report indicates the following:

       37 percent of workers are concerned that automation puts their jobs at risk

       74 percent of workers are ready to learn new skills or retrain

       60 percent of workers