Employers' return-to-office conundrum
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Illustration: Shoshana Gordon/Axios
Employers pulling back from remote work are making their own workplace goals harder to achieve.
Why it matters: Nearly 3 out of 4 HR leaders say diversity, equity and inclusion policies are critical to their company's future success — and worker flexibility is one tool that would help them achieve that, a closely watched study published yesterday suggests.
Driving the news: "One in five women say flexibility has helped them stay in their job or avoid reducing their hours," according to this year's Women in the Workplace report from LeanIn.org and McKinsey.
- That squares with government data showing that the U.S. labor market currently has the narrowest gender gap on record amid the rise of remote work, as Axios' Emily Peck has noted.
- And earlier this year, prime-age women's labor-force participation hit several records.
Yes, but: A KPMG survey released yesterday of more than 400 U.S. CEOs (of companies with at least $500 million in revenue) found that 62% envision their staff working permanently at the office within three years, up from 34% a year ago.
- And a Resume Builder report from August suggests nearly every company may require some mix of in-office attendance over the next few years.
The clash: Taking attendance can kill trust between workers and their employers.
- Workplace experts and psychologists also note that people with marginalized identities can view the workplace as an exhausting environment filled with microaggressions — what McKinsey researchers called a "mental minefield."
Between the lines: Return-to-office policies may lead companies to lose the employees they say they need most.
Threat level: "Women of color face the steepest drop-off in representation from entry-level to C-suite positions," the new study from LeanIn.org and McKinsey found.
- While 18% of entry-level workers are women of color, that number drops to just 6% in the C-suite.
- In sharp contrast, white men make up just 34% of entry-level workers, but 56% of C-suite positions.
Our thought bubble: Employers want growth — but at what long-term cost?
Go deeper: Huge gender gaps remain in views of barriers women face at work: study
