Yesterday, raw jobs data; today, the subtlety of the workplace.
Remote work has helped boost employment for the second-largest minority group in the U.S.: adults with disabilities. The labor force participation rate of workers 16 years and over with disabilities reached 23.3% in November last year — the highest since 2008. It’s dipped slightly since then to 22.5% as of August, but that’s still higher than it’s been since 2009.
The Information did a “Return to Office Wellness Check” and found more satisfaction overall than at the start of the pandemic. 40% are still planning to leave their jobs in the next two years, tho. Most respondents work on a hybrid schedule, spending between one and four days a week in an office. But nearly 40% are fully remote and much more likely to wish they were. Roughly 10% of respondents are fully back in the office.
43% are working either significantly or slightly more than they were in 2020. And with all that new work, 48% feel they are more productive than they were two years ago.
Managers and execs aren’t even sure they need the same people. A UK survey comprising 5,000 knowledge workers, 750 hiring managers, and 400 senior decision makers by consultancy AND Digital found that people at different levels of seniority within companies have “substantially different” ideas about what skills are most needed. For example, 60% of chairpeople believe their company has enough people with software engineering skills, compared to just 42% of senior managers. Likewise, half of the managing directors think they have enough people with data analytics skills on the payroll, compared to 44% of managers.
Pay transparency is rolling out further – California requires pay ranges on job ads for companies with 15 or more employees starting Jan 1, joining other states and New York City on the list.
Oh, and a Dutch court just ruled last month that a Florida company owed a remote worker $73,000 after it fired him for refusing to keep his webcam on. Working remotely, the man didn’t feel comfortable keeping his webcam on all day. And the Dutch court sided with the employee.
In all this, there remains opportunity — Despite 40% of companies wanting to implement 15 workplace technologies by 2025, 17% do not have any currently. Many businesses are evaluating how technology can support employees in the office, but implementation challenges remain, according to a JLL survey released Tuesday.
Why do we care?
I quipped yesterday that those CEOs who think we’ll be back in the office by 2025 are delusional. Here’s why – let’s take workers who are generally happy and make them less so, and in an environment where we’re bringing both adults with disabilities and those with child care concerns back into the workforce. That in an environment where they can’t even agree with their managers about the skills they need.
Maybe, just maybe, focus on being a better manager than worrying so much about that.
Two other points to note. First, with remote work being as flexible as it is, you had better know where your employees are. A company in florida loses the case in a Dutch court. You know how they could have avoided that? Less micromanagement. Think about it. If they had simply trusted the employee to work, and measured based on results, there’s no case.
Second point. The use of technology to manage work remains an open area. Think more “building workflow processes” and a lot less “monitoring software”. Technology providers will go very far there.
