Associate Professor: – Diversity and inclusion are challenged in hybrid work models

When breaking down boundaries between dissimilar colleagues, it’s important for them to have the opportunity to get to know each other and build relationships. And this is easier done in person instead of online.

When they meet in person, there are more opportunities for informal chats. In addition, research shows that it is difficult to read each other’s body language online, which can lead to misunderstandings.

Bias affects the way colleagues from different backgrounds view each other. And colleagues’ stereotypical images of each other can be reinforced by the hybrid organisation, where the company can take more individual considerations into account for each employee.

For example, if you are older and are given the opportunity to work from home more because you have back pain, this may reinforce your colleagues' and managers' preconceptions and prejudices about you being weaker because of your age. It can also exacerbate other typical prejudices, such as you being less adaptable or more prejudiced toward others.

In online meetings, where colleagues see each other in their homes, bias can get even worse. For example, if there are cultural or religious symbols in the home, or if it is cluttered, very tidy or filled with expensive designer items.

Not many companies have made cameras a requirement for online meetings. However, many people prefer it. For some groups, however, being in meetings with everyone on cameras is problematic.

For example, people with ADHD or autism may become exhausted or lose focus with the camera on. Employees with visual impairments may be challenged by lighting and setup in the online meeting. And some find it uncomfortable and intimidating to let colleagues see their home – especially if they already feel that they represent a minority in the workplace that colleagues are prejudiced against.

That said, many find it a problem when some colleagues don't have their camera on, as they can’t read their facial expressions during a meeting. 

Language barriers are a challenge when working with diversity, equity and inclusion. And the hybrid models only exacerbate the language barriers.

When colleagues meet online, it’s harder to parse body language, and if you speak English as a second language, for example, there are nuances that are missed and even harder to decipher.

In the hybrid work model, managers can cater to employees differently depending on their individual needs. But it can be challenging if the needs of some groups have more widespread acknowledgement and acceptance than those of other groups.

For example, most people agree that you should have special options for working from home if you have children to pick up. If you don’t have children, you may find that you don't get the same understanding if you want to work from home to fit in an after-work activity that’s important to you.

It can be a problem that employees without children or with adult children feel less acknowledged and have less access to the flexibility that the hybrid model offers.

Knowledge provides access to tasks, rewards and influence. And having access to knowledge is important for inclusion.

If you work from home a lot, you may miss out on small talk in the office. Especially if the small talk includes knowledge about new ideas, customers or anything else, this skews relations and causes division between employees.

Therefore, it is important for management to create and support a structure where knowledge is also shared with those working from home. Otherwise, you risk employees at home feeling excluded and not having access to new tasks.

Hybrid meetings, where some are physically present and others are on screen, present a challenge. And if you as a leader want to be more inclusive, it's especially difficult in the hybrid format, as those who are online are quickly excluded.

Some workplaces have decided that if one person is online, everyone is too, thus creating a level playing field and a more inclusive environment.

Either way, being inclusive in hybrid meetings requires more preparation and coordination on the part of the leader.

For employees to feel included, it’s important for them to feel connected to the workplace. When they feel psychologically safe and connected to the workplace, they also find it easier to accept that everyone is different.

But when employees work from home a lot, this can impact their sense of connection to the workplace and psychological safety.

Therefore, working to make employees feel included and psychologically safe becomes even more important if your organisation employs a hybrid model – especially if you want to strengthen diversity, equity and inclusion.

If employees want to be included and have access to tasks, in many workplaces it’s important for the employees to put themselves out there. But how can employees do that when they’re often not physically present?

Research shows that if you belong to a minority or a group that has less status or negative bias associated with, for example, efficiency, you will be listened to differently. Your performance is evaluated differently and getting in the game takes a little more work. This challenge can become even greater in the hybrid work model, where employees and managers see each other less often.

Proximity bias refers to how we tend to have more favourable perceptions of the people they see the most. We tend to rate their performance as better, for example.

Proximity bias can occur in any workplace. But the risk is particularly high in companies where employees can both come into the office and work from home.

As a manager, you may unconsciously prioritise the people you see the most because they are in the office more often. This can create an imbalance among employees, where some are excluded and have access to fewer tasks and less knowledge.