Apr. 22, 2022 "How to ensure career opportunities for remote workers": Today I found this article by
As some workers start returning to the office, an employment lawyer says companies should review their approach to career development for those continuing to work from home to avoid the risk of constructive dismissal claims.
Sunira Chaudhri, employment lawyer and founder of Workly Law, said that remote work has implications for employment agreements that set out worker’s rights, including an expectation for in-person performance evaluations.
“The risks are in workplaces that have allowed remote work. We actually don't have the infrastructure to evaluate remote workers fairly and consistently among their peers,” Chaudhri said.
This can create problems for workers who choose remote work and still want to progress in their career, Chaudhri said,
adding that employers will struggle with issues of offering career and educational opportunities to workers who are not physically in the office.
“I think the old adage rings true. Out of sight, out of mind, and some opportunities for office workers will come more easily than to a remote worker,” Chaudhri said.
During the pandemic, when some employees were physically at work and others were working remotely,
there was a tendency for some companies to pay remote workers differently,
which Chaudhri said created two classes of employees and increased situations of inequity.
The rising trend of employees choosing hybrid work means employers need to review their policies quickly.
Amazon’s recent business survey found that 43 per cent of Canadian office workers would look for other work if they were required to return to the office full time.
Fifty-seven per cent surveyed preferred a schedule that allowed for a partial return to work.
Remote workers also miss out on the informal in-person meetings that happen in offices that could lead to valuable work connections, according to Tiziana Casciaro, organizational behaviour professor with the Rotman School of Management.
“A lot of jobs really benefit from that serendipitous spontaneous interaction that occurs in the office when you bump into people,” Casciaro said.
“These things are real and can affect the prospects of employees.”
COMMUNICATE BEFORE YOU MANDATE
While some companies may be looking to mandate employees back to work full-time, Casciaro cautions against this.
She said that remote working arrangements during the pandemic have given employees the freedom to choose where to work and when to work, which is something that employees value tremendously.
“Managers have to take that into account that there's a heightened awareness in their employees of the value of autonomy,” Casciaro said.
Chaudhri suggests managers speak to employees before mandating a return to work. “I think employers that call employees back without communication bump up against some legal liability,” she said.
A LEVEL PLAYING FIELD
Some employers have adopted a hybrid working arrangement that can help level the playing field between remote workers and office workers looking for opportunities for career growth.
Media firm Dentsu Canada moved to a permanent hybrid model early in the pandemic.
“That allowed people to change their mindsets early and adapting to the fact that we’re never going to call them up and say you have to be in the office five days a week,” Jeff Greenspoon, president of solutions Americas at Dentsu, said.
For career advancement opportunities, Dentsu Canada’s Chief People Officer Carolyn Meacher said that the company encourages managers to
coach,
support
and champion
employees in any way they need to be supported in their career.
Meacher said Dentsu tries to accommodate the individual needs of employees who are interested in jobs that require more frequent face-to-face meetings with clients or other team members.
“We’ve discovered that you can do significantly more remotely than we ever imagined.”
Casciaro agrees managers are now more adept at leading employees who choose to work remotely and can still assist in growing their careers.
“The manager has therefore to have conversations with employees to understand what will allow them to do their best work possible,” Casciaro said.
For Erin Dixon, having a supportive manager was critical when she was an account executive with her former company based in Toronto.
“I had the opportunity to move to the Niagara region, and I was fortunate enough to have the support of my organization to take my job with me and work remotely,” she said.
Dixon credits her manager’s efforts to recognize her work ethic and create a good working relationship.
EQUAL PAY
Chaudhri said that tactics, such as performance reviews and utilizing compensation grids, need to be reviewed to ensure that the process for evaluating both remote and in-person employees is consistent.
“When you use a high amount of discretion in setting compensation, that’s where you can encounter legal liability,” Chaudhri said.
As well, ensuring that a company is leveraging any available technology can also help remote workers feel included, especially if they’re missing the impromptu conversations in the office.
Greenspoon said that the need to train managers on how to use technology for hybrid teams was important to connect employees from the various work locations.
“There’s technology enablement so that the person on the other side of the screen feels as included as possible,” Greenspoon said.
When Dixon started working remotely, she said she attended all conference calls and took part in workplace meetings when needed.
“I made it a priority to attend as much as possible and to participate as much as possible.
So being really prepared to
bring up ideas,
sharing experiences,
not just sitting there and listening
but really engaged in whatever the agenda was,” she said.
Dixon said her efforts led her to join different projects
and allowed her to move through the organization into more progressive roles.
She was eventually promoted to a senior leadership role and continued to work from home.
How to ensure career opportunities for remote workers - BNN Bloomberg
May 2, 2022 "'It won't change overnight:' Workers push back as return-to-office plans roll out": Today I found this article by Brett Bundale on BNN Bloomberg:
Ian McGrath has made it clear to his bosses: If the company forces staff to return to the office, he'll tender his resignation.
The Halifax-area tech worker says he's thriving working from home.
His productivity has soared,
his last annual review exceeded expectations
and he's now one of the company's top performers.
"I've also achieved a much better work-life balance," McGrath said.
"I’m healthier, happier and more productive."
Businesses are issuing return-to-office plans across the country, calling white-collar workers back to their cubicles after two years of working from home.
As pandemic restrictions are lifted and case numbers ease, some companies want workers back in the office five days a week.
On the other side of the spectrum, others are vacating pricey leases in prime downtown areas and asking employees to work remotely for good.
Many others are adopting a hybrid model, varying from a flexible come-when-you-want approach to mandating specific days workers must report to the office for duty.
Yet after more than two years of Zoom calls and Slack chats from home, wearing comfy "soft" pants and having more time for kids or exercise or reading, employees may be resistant to returning to the office.
"Some employers just want to flip a switch and turn back time to how things were," said Catherine Connelly, human resources and management professor at McMaster University's DeGroote School of Business.
"It's wishful thinking," she said. "If you look at any other past pandemic ... behaviours just did not reset to how things were."
A return to the office doesn't affect all workers equally, said Connelly, also Canada Research Chair in organizational behaviour.
Multiple factors can influence how employees respond to the revival of office life,
from the comfort of their home working conditions
and personality type
to their workplace culture
and office set up.
"If you've got a nice big office with a door that closes and maybe a dedicated parking space,
that's very different than someone being asked to work from a noisy cubicle with a lot of interruptions," she said.
The key to a successful return-to-office plan is flexibility and taking it slow, experts say.
If workers feel like they are being coerced into returning to the office, they'll push back.
"If people perceive it as control being taken away from them, you're going to get resistance," said Paula Allen, global leader and senior vice-president of research and total well-being at LifeWorks.
"Two years is a long time for habits to become ingrained and people don't like change," she said. "It won't change overnight."
Some tech companies, previously known for workplace perks such as free office fitness classes and nap rooms, are again turning to incentives to help lure workers back to the office.
ServiceNow Canada, an enterprise software company with offices in Montreal and Toronto and plans to open a Calgary location soon, is hoping to entice employees with free meals and team-building events.
"We’re starting to put on some events to say, 'We’re here, come on down and have some fun,'" said Marc LeCuyer, vice-president and general manager of ServiceNow Canada.
The tech company has held a
Taco Tuesday lunch,
a pop-up from a local bakery
and a pizza making event, he said.
"We want to get back to this mindset where human connection is valuable and healthy," Lecuyer said.
"We want to set the stage for a return to the office in a very positive way."
The company doesn't plan to mandate a return to the office, he said.
"We're providing people with choice," Lecuyer said.
"If you're working for an employer who is forcing you to do something that you don't want to do, there's no path to positive experience."
The desire to attract employees back to offices with perks such as free food has been a boon for
startups like Hungerhub, a corporate catering tech platform that delivers lunches to workplaces from local restaurants.
Sari Abdo, co-founder and CEO of the Toronto-based startup, said the corporate lunch program eases some of the burden of returning to an office.
"I think we're seeing a carrot-and-stick approach to getting employees back in the office and this is a carrot," he said. "Companies are saying, 'Don't worry about food, don't worry about meal planning, just come on in.'"
While a free lunch is a nice gesture, companies do have the right to call workers back into the office — no incentive required, said employment lawyer Hermie Abraham.
"This is the employer's legal right and decision as to how they wish to implement return-to-work plans," she said.
"People may feel like they should have the right to continue working from home but unless there's a human rights consideration, they don't."
Many workers going into the office for the first time in years are groaning about a
lengthy commute,
expensive parking
and the soaring cost of lunch.
But from a legal standpoint, Abraham said it's largely "too bad, so sad."
"You may have realized gains during COVID because you didn't have to pay for those things, but that's not your employer's problem," she said.
"This is the job you signed up for when you originally were hired."
Still, Abraham said a best practice would be to allow a gradual return to the office — particularly given the current red hot labour market.
"There is going to be a war for talent in some positions and the more accommodating and flexible you are as an employer, the greater chances that you'll win."
Halifax-area tech worker Ian McGrath said he's aware of the low unemployment rate and competition for talent in many industries, including his.
"I know what the market looks like right now," he said. "I know that I could leave my job for somewhere else and make more money."
'It won't change overnight:' Workers push back as return-to-office plans roll out - BNN Bloomberg
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