Bernadette Thomas (nee Mimmo)’s Post

Joeli Brearley just shared an article about how remote working decreases the motherhood penalty, and it really resonated with me. The research shows that as businesses adopt remote work policies, the employment gap between women with children and those without shrinks. From personal experience, I can vouch for how transformative this flexibility has been for me. I honestly couldn’t have done my last two jobs as a Head of Talent for fast-growing tech businesses without the option to work from home regularly. Remote-first working allowed me to keep up with the demands of a fast-paced career, while still being able to dash off to pick up my kids before 6pm - saving me from missing out on 2-3 hours of working time that would otherwise have been lost to commuting 3-4 times a week. This kind of work-life flexibility isn’t just a perk, it’s a necessity for many of us - especially for ambitious working parents trying to juggle it all. So when I see the backlash against remote work, particularly from those who likely don’t face the same challenges, it makes me sad. Yes, there are challenges with remote work, and it’s not for everyone - and that’s ok. I’ve spent many happy years in the office and totally get the upsides! But when it comes to creating more inclusive work environments, the benefits of staying flexible far outweigh the downsides. Let’s treat our people like the adults they are and keep striving for work that works - for everyone.

Research shows that working from home decreases the motherhood penalty - as businesses allow more of their employees to work remotely, the employment gap between women with children and those without narrows. Meanwhile, the backlash against remote working, mostly by wealthy white men, continues to rage on. I get that there are challenges with remote working - PTS is entirely remote - but the benefits massively outweigh the cons. If you want a company culture that works for all employees then stop demanding people get back to the office.

Reading some of these headlines and comments that Joeli Brearley has curated below makes me so angry. Companies that suggest employees are lazy, spoiled, and untrustworthy if they need flexibility clearly have pretty shitty cultures. The foundations of a good culture are built on trust. And trust is a two-way street — if you are trusted by your employer and treated like an adult, then guess what? The likelihood is that employees can be trusted to deliver. If I were a business with a recruitment challenge right now and offered flexibility, I’d be actively targeting people who are on the hunt for a new role from one of these businesses mandating a return to the office. Some great talent will be in the market! I totally get that it's tough for businesses to get it right for everyone, and offices are a MASSIVE expense if no one is using them. I also totally believe that face-to-face has its place in the workplace too, but as a grown up, it's usually pretty obvious what situations would benefit from some face-to-face time. However for me, the glaringly obvious gap still stands between office-based and frontline workers who don't necessarily have a choice over where they work. Options for site-based employees may only extend to how or when they work and more often than not, employers aren't particularly forthcoming with what's available to them. I'm also not surprised that there is still perception in some business environments that flexibility only means WFH and rhetoric like these headlines doesn't help that. Without doubt, flexible work options need to be expedited for frontline workers, and communications play a critical role in helping employees understand what’s actually available to them.

Excellent point as always by Joeli Brearley regarding the current backlash to working from home. Useful to remember that not only mums benefit from flexible working and working from home - WFH narrows the employment gap also for people with disabilities and those with caring responsibilities, for whom going to the office every day is not a possibility. I still don’t understand why the government is not getting involved - when mums and carers generally can work from home flexibly they can continue in employment, won’t need that much assistance from the state, therefore lessening the burden/ public spending. It’s a no-brainer, really. Working from home does not work for every role but, when possible, it should be an option.

Question time // Despite ongoing backlash against remote work, the benefits far outweigh the challenges. While remote work may have its difficulties, it offers tremendous advantages: greater flexibility, improved work-life balance, and a more inclusive environment for all employees. How has remote work helped you? Let us know in the comments 👇

I can't stress enough how important this is. WFH policies and flexible hours allow you to retain great people. It also decreases the motherhood penalty that I am painfully aware of. If people have to choose between working in an office and their family or health, especially if they have the option of finding a new job, what do you think they are going to do? Look at who is pushing this agenda and why. It's clear who benefits, and it's not working parents or people who need to work from home for a variety of reasons. In solidarity with the people who are working their butts off as well as raising the next generation of humans. Create the culture you want to see in the future or lose your best players. #workingparents #parenting #worklifebalance #workingmums #workingmum #flexibleworking #workingdads #childcare #workfromhome #workingfromhome #workingdad #flexappeal #workingparent #family #flexforall #motherhood #mumlife #dadlife #mumpreneur #parents #returntowork #workingmother #kids #workingwomen #parenthood

💼 The number of men working remotely while their wives head into the office has increased, leading to the rise of the “WFH husband”. While remote working became the norm during the pandemic, there has been a concerted effort by many companies and government departments to return staff to the office. But in some households, the pandemic offered the opportunity for one partner, often the male one, to go fully remote. Research in the US found that more than 2pc of male workers are fully remote but have a spouse who goes to a workplace. Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/etd3vr4h

A 2023 report found that 87% of American workers who have a job that can be performed remotely, work in hybrid (43%) or fully remote (34%) arrangements. In the U.K., 40% of workers were not in the office full time in 2023. But, everyone may have lost something as our shared spaces become more temporary and transient – a place to come work a few days per week and attend a team meeting. The community, the sense of belonging to something larger with others, feels hard to achieve when everyone isn’t together, most of the time. Certainly we all benefit from the freedom to work remotely, live where we choose, and have more flexible schedules. But again and again employers and employees have evolved in what they need from what a workplace. #Community #CompanyCulture #HybridWork #RemoteWork #RemoteTeam

"Don't tell me what to do!" No one - from a 3 year old to a fully grown adult - appreciates being ordered to do something I had a conversation last night with someone who accepted a fully remote role 2 years ago They moved their family to a sweet, little town to raise their kids Recently, that fully remote role became a mandated 2-day a week in-office role that requires a suck-the-life-out-of-you commute Why? "The culture is suffering" This is a modern, Bay Area tech company that does frequent employee surveys with great participation Until the mandate, feedback was that the culture was doing just great Now... You already know what I'm going to say Mandates don't work They don't work with 3 year olds and they definitely don't work with adults Have you ever seen a child throw themselves on the floor and meltdown when a parent tries to get them to go somewhere they don't want to? That's what being forced to return to an office feels like for lots of folks Some studies show that up to 50% of people would choose to leave their job for one more flexible That's a HUGE number It's not going to end well for corporations that mandate in-office work People do not like being told what to do. Full stop. #flexwork #futureofwork #Upflex

The global pandemic changed the landscape of work, possibly forever. Many businesses switched entirely to a home-based workforce to expand their potential pool of employees and cut the costs of running an office. But there are other benefits too. Remote working increased access for people with disabilities, parents, carers and more, as they could work without physical roadblocks or wasted time commuting. Find out more about the increased accessibility of remote working, plus some great tools to facilitate a decentralised workforce in our new blog - https://buff.ly/41ZcP26 Get in touch with the Lincoln Be Smarter team at https://buff.ly/40eCbbe to find out more about remote working tools for your business. #RemoteWork #WFH #BusinessNetwork #BusinessLincoln #LincolnSmallBusiness #Digitalisation #BusinessAdvice #Lincoln #Lincolnshire #LincolnBusiness #SmallBusiness #BusinessDigitalisation #LincolnBeSmarter University of Lincoln City of Lincoln Council