The future of work is likely to agile, it must also be inclusive

A seismic shift is taking place in how we organise and structure work. The pandemic stripped away many of the long-standing objections and perceived barriers to remote working, and changed many people’s expectations of how and where they should be able to work. It’s important however, that this shift is not just left to happen and that we take this opportunity to ask ourselves, what should work look like?

Our labour market remains starkly unequal. Women are less likely to be in work, are paid less on average, are more likely to work part-time and are under-represented in certain sectors and in decision-making positions. Caring responsibilities continue to exert significant influence over women’s employment options, and over the course of their working lives they generally pay less into pension pots, leaving them at higher risk of poverty when they retire. For women of colour and disabled women, employment outcomes are even worse, and discrimination remains a significant part of their experience.

This inequality comes at a cost. Plenty of research demonstrates that more diverse workplaces are more effective and that a lack of diverse voices can hinder innovation and result in the development of products and services that simply do not work for distinct groups in our communities. The cost is also seen at the macro-economic level, with a potential £13.6bn to be added to Wales’ economy through achieving gender equality in the labour market.

A lack of agile and inclusive work is a significant factor in this labour market inequality. Women who are balancing caring responsibilities with paid work, have been less able to strike the right balance in a context of rigid working patterns and a resistance to remote working. Disabled people have called for more home-based and flexible working for years to enable them to access and progress in employment.

The pandemic and associated lockdowns threw everything up in the air. All of a sudden, everyone who could work from home was required to work from home. Employers and employees had to quickly adapt to this new normal, ensuring equipment and policies were in place to support a largely remote workforce. Practically overnight, the age-old resistance to remote working was forced to disappear, as previously insurmountable barriers were overcome. As a result, many workers got to experience the autonomy and flexibility that remote working can offer.

However, this experience wasn’t positive for everyone. Chwarae Teg’s research into women’s experiences of lockdown revealed that for some women, working from home was incredibly difficult. Some lacked adequate space at home to work comfortably, many were balancing paid work with caring and home-schooling, and for some remote working did not mean flexibility.

This shows us how important it is to centre equity and fairness in discussions of the future of work. Equality does not happen by accident, we cannot simply sit back and hope that a shift to a more dispersed workforce will deliver fairly for all, we must actively pursue equality in the workplace as a goal in itself.

It’s our view at Chwarae Teg that the future of work must be agile and inclusive. This means work that offers flexibility, choice and autonomy, that is focused on outcomes not time and is person-centred. It must be based on principles of trust, agility, adaptability and wellbeing.

To ensure that a shift to agile and inclusive working is in fact inclusive, business leaders need to foreground equality. This means fully considering how changes in how and where people work will impact different groups. Crucially this must look beyond groups already working within the organisation, and consider the needs of people from diverse backgrounds that are currently under-represented, so that employment opportunities are opened up. There are some simple tools and approaches that can be used to help do this, whether it’s using equality impact assessments, meaningful engagement and consultation with staff or the collection of equality data and evidence. Creating opportunities to share best practice and lessons learnt will also be important.

Discussions about where and how people work cannot be static. As we trial new and different ways of working we will learn what works and what doesn’t, new technology will continue to shape what’s possible and what’s affordable. Discussions about delivering agile and inclusive workplaces will therefore need to be dynamic and ongoing, they will need to facilitate sharing of knowledge and best practice and will need to focus on how workplaces can contribute to a fairer Wales where all women achieve and prosper. We cannot afford to miss this opportunity to shape a more agile, inclusive and equitable future.