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97% of Black knowledge workers don’t want to return to the office—here’s why:
Reflection
2020 was THE WORST, can we all agree? So, why are employees of color reluctant to return to the office—2 years later? The U.S. declaration of a public health emergency on February 3, 2020, marked a period of widespread panic, fear, and confusion for many. However, this period also catalyzed the largest transition to remote working in human history, in a wave that spread right across the world. Coincidentally, this happened at a time when the eyes of the world were fixed on the U.S., not for its Covid-19 response, but as the country grappled with issues of heightened racial tension. With more people being at home and having the time to tune in to these occurrences, there were renewed debates and conversations around systemic racism, prejudices, and microaggression within the workplace and other institutions. As fate would have it, the country’s racial issues, the Covid-19 pandemic, and the practice of remote work would all come to an unlikely intersection.
A New Normal
As the world quickly and reluctantly adapted to a new normal in the face of the pandemic, many businesses closed their doors, meanwhile, remote working allowed others to continue their operations. Knowledge workers who previously worked in the office now had the opportunity to create their own bubble as more people started working from home. Zoom and other virtual platforms diversified the spectrum of what was deemed OK in the workplace, from working in our shorts and bed slippers to every day being a “take your pet to work day!”.
Surprisingly (or not so surprisingly), this was not the only form of diversification that work from home would facilitate. Amid the country’s racial tensions, people of color who work(ed) from home seemingly found reprieve from the daily bouts of microaggression and prejudices faced by many in their places of work. Despite the many voices amplifying the harm of inequity in the workplace, many were surprised when a 2021 Slack Future Forum publication revealed that only 3% of Black knowledge workers wanted to return to the office, while the remaining 97% preferred a hybrid or fully remote arrangement; this was compared to only 79% of White knowledge workers.
Is WFH a Band-Aid or Super Glue?
Black knowledge workers are clinging to remote work at a higher rate than their White colleagues, and while there are numerous benefits to having a remote workforce, it is also true that each company must decide for itself whether to have employees return to the office, or continue their remote or hybrid working arrangements.
In this decision-making process, companies must be mindful to not simply use remote working as an escape from addressing racial disparity within the workforce. Avoidance is by no means a remedy for the lower sense of workplace belonging and higher stress levels with which employees of color are faced. Instead, business leaders must seek to leverage their resources to fix inequity and exclusion issues in the workplace. To do so is to promote a healthier working environment for everyone and reduce the marginalization of great employees, both inside and outside the physical office.
The Employee Experience
If the Great Resignation has taught us anything, it is that employees have a natural yearning to climb the ladder of Maslow’s Hierarchy, not only in their personal environs but also within their places of work. Employees, regardless of their race, gender, class, or caste, deserve to have and feel a sense of safety, belonging, respect, and professional dignity in the places where they spend approximately 50% of their waking hours. This stands true whether employees are working in the office, or if they work in a remote or hybrid setting. However, the fact that people of color are disproportionately impacted by issues of inequity in the workplace, simply cannot be ignored. Until the needs of marginalized employees are adequately catered to, it is only natural that they will be more inclined to work from home if it means not having to deal with discrimination and microaggression in the office.
Getting Back to the Office
A strong sense of community will not simply appear out of thin air just because we return to the office. It is imperative that businesses consider everything that was wrong in their workplace culture before the pandemic. Returning to the office has different implications for different groups of people. As companies implement return-to-office policies, business leaders must familiarize themselves with the challenges of their marginalized employees and be prepared to address these challenges as they develop.
While the decision to return to the office is subjective, one absolutely non-negotiable thing is the need for a safe, diverse, and inclusive workplace. The desire to work from home should be driven solely by individual preference and conveniences, and not something that employees have to resort to as an escape from inequity, discrimination, and microaggression in the office.