The stats tell a story of a virtuous cycle – a remote work policy increases diversity in the workforce, which in turn makes for a better working culture.
The recent research is definitive - businesses that embrace diversity have a healthy work culture, and remote work can be a key part of driving that.
What benefits would it bring to your organization?
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Workplace diversity is recognized as a critical component for creating a healthy work environment. A diverse workforce can lead to higher workplace satisfaction and, in turn, higher productivity.
As expressed by Job van der Voort, co-founder and CEO of Remote, “Building a team with different backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives ensures greater innovation and creativity, more scrutiny of ideas, and better decision-making”.
Embracing flexibility contributes to workplace diversity. By offering remote work, talent acquisition becomes easier and TA teams become more open to finding new work opportunities for people from a wider variety of backgrounds.
By not looking to hire remotely, companies limit their available options for talent.
From the same report, 40% of global hiring managers list legal requirements, payroll and complying with local regulations as the biggest reason for not including more remote workers. While this should be a concern, it should not limit companies, as there are many solutions to these setbacks.
What can employers do to promote diversity?
The first step to promoting workplace diversity is to ensure that recruitment strategy attracts a diverse selection of candidates.
Employers should look towards creating a welcoming environment, especially surrounding flexible workers. This means taking steps to promote diversity at all levels of the company. Creating an inclusive environment will encourage innovation and creativity throughout the organization.
Opening channels of communication is another critical factor of successful workplace diversity. Allowing employees of all levels to voice concerns and hesitations can identify barriers that may be impeding success in the company.
Employers who take steps to diversify the organization will be met with increased benefits. Through diversifying the workforce, employee satisfaction will increase leading to higher productivity.
Remote’s tech talent research also adds to the growing reasons of why flexibility needs to become standard practice. As an element of modern work increasing innovation, productivity and happiness, can you afford not to embrace remote work in 2023?
