Tag: #womenintech

It’s The Holiday Season… So, Let’s Talk About Women and Family Planning in Remote Work

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By Stephanie Diana Eubank

As we come into the Holiday Season where one of the holidays is Christmas.  Christmas is a celebration of birth, and now is an excellent time to talk about how women are not supported in the onsite workplace based on their ability to bring life into the world.  However, to avoid getting too political about it, I will focus on how remote work can be a band-aid to help companies support women in the workplace.

First, let’s acknowledge that women tend to be significantly affected career and money-wise by having a child.  According to the 2019 data Knop (2021); shows growth in the labor force based on the number of women entering the workforce.  The US Census data details that women gain more education and stay in the workforce even after having children. Further, the US Census data shows that 4 out of 5 moms with higher education degrees who gave birth in 2019 demographics 71.2% were still working in the labor force.  Within that demographic, only 9.2% took leave, and 1.5% were unemployed. The findings from the US Census data also showed those of women with just a bachelor’s degree that gave birth the same year, over 60.9% remained employed. Although interestingly, of those in the workforce with only a bachelor’s degree, 26.6% were not in the labor force.

COVID created chaos in many respects but according to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics Scopelliti (2021); showed women left the workforce due to childcare issues during COVID.  This is further discussed by the US Census Bureau article by Heggeness et al. (2021), which notes the data showed at the height of the lockdowns, over one-third of the working mothers in the US were not able to work due to COVID lockdowns and the effects it had on childcare and health care.  However, according to the US Census Bureau, by January 2021, over 18.5 million working moms were actively part of the labor force as the pandemic raged.  It should be noted that this number is still short, with over 1.6 million moms in the workforce at the same time the year before.

The exciting thing is that by 2021 the hit to workplace gender demographics leveled out for working mothers and fathers.  The pandemic hurt most people’s income and careers. Although the stats show that the pandemic has continued to break working mothers more than working fathers. It should be factored in that many women hold jobs in career paths that have been heavily affected by COVID, and many are considered essential workers.

All these stats being said, we cannot ignore that paid family leave, and other maternity benefits are still subpar for women in the US.  Worse yet, as detailed in the Stanford University News article (De Witte, 2022), even if a company or state has a good maternity leave program, women’s jobs and career paths are still challenging to maintain because of our roles as mothers. Not having well-formed Paid Family Leave programs for men and women and lack of childcare have added to the slow return of women to the workplace. This fuels the untrue adage held by business professionals that once women have kids, they no longer focus on work.  Thus, making it harder for women to move up in organizations and statistically making it harder for women to take leadership roles.

With all this being said, remote work leaves an exciting opportunity for working parents and women about to be mothers. I speak from experience when I say remote position afforded me the luxury of being with my children, which was great for my and their physical and emotional health.  All while allowing me the room to grow and thrive in a Subject Matter Expert or SME type of leadership role in the remote workplace.  Due to health complications, I had to transition to a remote workplace while pregnant with my oldest son.  After giving birth, I was asked to return to the workplace rather than work primarily from home.  I had my son in daycare for about four months when he was just a few weeks old. Although our local childcare giver was excellent and well-practiced (shout out to Gina), I was miserable.  She had also commented on how my son was so clingy and cuddly, which in her experience, wasn’t typical for a young infant. Also, childcare was near my home, making it easy to pick up and drop off, but I was an hour away from where I worked (a relatively average commute for the San Francisco Bay Area).  So, I constantly worried if there was an accident, I couldn’t get there quickly to my baby.  I cried in the bathroom at work, continually missing my baby.   

I was lucky when one of my mentors called me up and told me about a department she was developing and helped me get hired to work remotely full-time.  I was able to spend more time with my son and really bond with him in a way that I couldn’t during maternity leave.  Especially with all my complications, maternity leave was chaotic and didn’t leave much room to bond.  Also, like many women, I was the primary breadwinner, so maternity leave pay was minuscule.  Working remotely gave me the flexibility to get the job done and done right while having time to help care for my son and take breaks to mentally unwind and spend time with him. 

When I had my second son, my oldest and I could all bond together and balance my work and academic work while working full time, all because of the ability to work from home. Remote work has fueled my research and has helped give me the bandwidth to support my children, spend time with them, and invest in myself and my earning potential for my boys’ long-term care.  After finishing my Doctorate program at Concordia University Chicago, my family and I have the bandwidth for long-term family planning with remote and hybrid work for both my husband and me.

I am by no means saying remote work is a way to fix the disparage between how women are affected in the workplace and laws that don’t support their ability to bring life into the world while providing for that life. I am saying that while society and business laws work to fix the issues and learn to support fellow women and people who care give for children, remote work has room for flexibility.  The flexibility of remote work allows people to develop a work-life balance.  With all everyone has seen and dealt with during and post-COVID, expanding remote work to give people the room to balance life and family will remind workers why they do it all. Family is important.  Especially at this time of the year, let us all honor the caregivers of the world and workforce and remember to work to support them.  Even if the best support is remote work.

If you liked this article and found it informative, remember sharing is caring.  Also, please like, subscribe, and check out some of my other media outlets. My consulting firm also offers training for companies to help develop more effective remote leadership.

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Wickedbofthewest

Website: wickedbofthewestremoteconsulting.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WickedBoftheWestBusinessConsulting

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wickedbofthewestconsulting/

Twitter: @SDEubank

Blog: drstephaniebeardbaremoteresearch.org

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanie-diana-eubank-590b3757/ 

Work Cited

De Witte, M. (2022, March 9). The real benefits of paid Family leave. Stanford News. Retrieved December 19, 2022, from https://news.stanford.edu/2022/03/09/real-benefits-paid-family-leave/

Heggeness, M. L., Fields, J., García Trejo, Y. A., & Schulzetenberg, A. (2021, October 8). Tracking job losses for mothers of school-age children during a health crisis. Census.gov. Retrieved December 19, 2022, from https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2021/03/moms-work-and-the-pandemic.html

Knop, B. (2021, October 28). Among recent moms, more educated most likely to work. Census.gov. Retrieved December 19, 2022, from https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2019/08/are-women-really-opting-out-of-work-after-they-have-babies.html

Scopelliti, D. (2021, April). Has covid-19 affected mothers’ labor market outcomes? : Monthly Labor Review. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved December 19, 2022, from https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2021/beyond-bls/has-covid-19-affected-mothers-labor-market-outcomes.htm

Where Have All the Workers Gone?

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By Stephanie Diana Eubank

So, there are a lot of articles on companies pushing for remote workers to come back to the office. Inversely we see a rise in demand for Remote Work positions.  This rise in remote work has made the concept of constant turnover a norm in business as companies and management within companies push employees to come back to the office when they don’t want to.  As it was pre-pandemic, the office is a thing of the past. While companies cling to the past, one concept must be asked.  Where have all the workers gone?

The common narrative among leadership is that “People just don’t want to work anymore.”  Extensive research on this is extremely untrue.  According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the jobs report shows the US unemployment rate is at 3.7%. The BLS details how remote work jobs are growing and companies that embrace it value flexibility in scheduling. Remote work post-pandemic has also come with rises in pay on average by 8% across the US, per the BLS findings. This kind of sweetens the deal for employees.  Based on the math, employees work smarter, not harder, and remotely. Which is great news for the economy and for diversity in the workplace.  Along with family dynamics, that’s a different post.

Then why are companies pulling back remote workers, you ask?  Before COVID, companies used to do away with remote workers and teams up front as a cost-cutting method.  They disguised it as a maneuver to increase (yuck) “synergy,” creativity, and productivity. Although all the stats since 2020 squash that idea.  But in truth, this was done so that companies didn’t have to lay these people off as if it were a financial issue.  Basically, having a layoff without having a layoff.  The most notable person to do this was the CEO of Yahoo back in 2013.  She was ridiculed because this adversely affected the company’s women the most. Considering Yahoo’s hardships since then, it is probably wise to tread with caution on companies that ban remote work, as that is not usually a good historical sign of healthy growth.

Another similar tactic companies have used in the past is to relocate the main office and require everyone to move to that new location and come into the office. This was for the same reasons, but with remote work, if this is done and remote work is not welcomed, I would also tread lightly like a cute fluffy animal that doesn’t look so good.

The next straw man argument given to support the idea that employees don’t want to work is always, “Well, what about Quiet Quitting?” or “Acting Your Wage”?  What about it?  Quiet Quitting and Acting Your Wage are both moves by employees to set healthy boundaries in the workplace.  For decades we have had toxic workplaces having toxic philosophies that increase burnout and workplace PTSD that we have all had a hand in normalizing.  Such as “We’re a workplace family,” which manipulates employees to work longer and harder hours, often without additional pay.  Cause the things we do for family.  All the while losing out on rest and time with our actual families.  Which is not good for building a stable workplace. Or demanding meetings during off time and not paying for those times and the work done in those meetings. Another I dislike in a remote workplace is when leaders call at 3am your time and can’t figure out why you aren’t working on the email question they sent one minute ago.  This is fine when it is legitimately an “Oops, I forgot you are in another time zone; sorry to wake you.”  But, when it is followed by, “No excuse if I email you should respond immediately, I don’t care what time or time zone,” that’s not acceptable.

Also, in remote work, everything is more transparent and documented.  So, toxic leaders or toxic culture gets spotted sooner in remote work.  This does more work for Human Resources because no one trains leaders how to lead unless they went to college and got experience from good leaders and remote leaders are different.  Remote workers need a different type of leader.  You can’t be that unfeeling distant leader in a remote workplace because it is harder to bond. 

We need leadership that is like a teacher.  And what I mean by this is having the grace to command your classroom like a teacher.  Put up with no BS and yet still be caring and sensitive.  Empathetic to things remote workers miss from the onsite concept.  Like bonding with coworkers and open communication.  Simple acts of caring. Like calling to say “Hi.”  Just to make sure everything on their end is OK.  Once we remember we, as leaders, are people just like our team members, we can all spare some kindness. That doesn’t mean we need to be pushovers.  It just means that leadership’s ruthless, scarcity attitudes don’t work in a remote workplace.  We have all survived and seen too much during COVID.

So, Acting Your Wage and Quiet Quitting is setting boundaries to prevent burnout and workplace PTSD while demanding better from leadership. 

Ultimately, employees go remotely or in-person to companies with better leadership skills. Remember, people don’t quit companies.  They quit leaders.

If you found this article interesting, follow me on my social media outlets.  My consulting firm also offers training for companies to help develop more effective remote leadership.

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Wickedbofthewest

Website: wickedbofthewestremoteconsulting.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WickedBoftheWestBusinessConsulting

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wickedbofthewestconsulting/

Twitter: @SDEubank

Blog: drstephaniebeardbaremoteresearch.org

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanie-diana-eubank-590b3757/ 

Work Cited

Arthur, C. (2013, February 25). Yahoo chief bans working from home. The Guardian. Retrieved December 13, 2022, from https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/feb/25/yahoo-chief-bans-working-home

Liu, J. (2022, October 7). Remote work could keep fueling high turnover: ‘the map is open for job seekers’. CNBC. Retrieved December 13, 2022, from https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/07/remote-work-could-keep-fueling-high-turnover.html

KISLIUK, B. I. L. L. (2010, July 23). Staff changes for Bank of America. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 13, 2022, from https://www.latimes.com/socal/glendale-news-press/news/tn-gnp-xpm-2010-07-23-tn-gnp-bank-20100723-story.html

Bureau of Labor and Statistics. (2022, March 1). Telework during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Estimates Using the 2021 Business Response Survey. Retrieved December 13, 2022, from https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2022/article/telework-during-the-covid-19-pandemic.htm#:~:text=At%20the%20time%20of%20the,involving%20teleworking%20rarely%20or%20never.

Eckstein, J. (2022, December 7). How yahoo makes money. Investopedia. Retrieved December 13, 2022, from https://www.investopedia.com/articles/markets/121015/how-yahoo-makes-money-yhoo.asp#:~:text=Today%2C%20Yahoo%20exists%20as%20a,for%20Yahoo’s%20real%20clients%2C%20advertisers.

Women Raise Both Families and Economies

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By Stephanie Diana Eubank

So, I have written about the fact that I am a working mom of two here in California, and I have been blessed to work remotely as a Subject Matter Expert or SME in the financial industry for over ten years.  And no, I don’t mean I have worked remotely during COVID, and it felt like 10 years.  I have worked remotely as a Subject Matter Expert in the financial sector for over 10 years. Remote work gave me the luxury of having a work/ life balance that many women have not been granted. 

It struck me today when I was reading an article from The Verge.com, and they were talking about the best gifts for work-from-home employees.  And the first few lines of the work read something to the effect that when Dolly Parton wrote the song “9-5,” she did not contemplate remote work. The author isn’t wrong, but I think Dolly would have liked the freedom of remote work.  And to be fair remote work has been a concept that we have had the tools to do on a large scale without suffering productivity since the 80s, so maybe she did.  I know I need my cup of ambition to work from home.

I am ADHD and Dyslexic, so what my husband and I call Squirrel moments…I love Dolly Parton she wrote one of my favorite Whitney Huston sons, “I Will Always Love You.”  I also love her movies.  Ha-ha, I joke with my hairdresser that I have never done my hair because it just isn’t natural, as a paraphrase from one of my favorite lines from “Steel Magnolias.”

Back to the topic, remote work is a crucial tool for women to get back into and stay in the workforce. Part of the inspiration for my research and advocacy of remote work is that it brings more diversity into the workplace.  One group is a particular woman.

According to the MIT Sloan School of Management article published in April of 2022 (and I will paste it in the comments.), women are less likely, statistically speaking, to be promoted.  According to the research of Prof Danielle Li, women in the workplace receive consistently higher performance ratings than men but are 14% less likely to be promoted.

Unfortunately, a big part of the problem is that there is still the old belief that if women get pregnant, they will leave their job.  Or that women are less reliable in the workplace because they have kids or are traditionally otherwise primary caregivers.  Now where women are, according to Caregiver.org, 75% of the US are caregivers to children, the elderly, or disabled persons. However, the PEWs report of October 2022 reads that women are more likely than men to adjust their careers for their family it is not because they are less devoted to their job or less capable but because there is no infrastructure to help them balance work and family. In 2012 PEWs published a report that showed 79% of Americans said women should return to a “more traditional role,” but when the same people were surveyed about what to do about kids with working moms, only 16% said that having a mom that works full time is good for kids?

This is stressed even more when we think about how over 1.1 million women had to leave the workforce during COVID to address the loss of childcare.  And don’t get me started on the topic of maternity leave. 

As a working mom, I have worked remotely for over 10 years.  And no, I don’t mean I have worked remotely during COVID, and it felt like 10 years.  I have worked remotely as a Subject Matter Expert in the financial sector for over 10 years. Remote work gave me the luxury of having a work/ life balance that many women have not been granted. 

Remote work is not a fix for all the infrastructure issues to support women in the labor force. Still, it creates opportunities for women to balance and provide those tools and leadership perspectives that the economy needs while supporting their families. It also lowers stress for remote workers.  As leaders, we must remember a basic economic concept that women raise families and economies.

But if you want real items that are good gift ideas this Holiday season for the Remote Working Mom or Woman in your life, I suggest the following:

That’s it for this post.  If you want more info on the research behind this post, check out the links below and my Consulting firm’s website. And remember sharing is caring, so like and subscribe.  Also, references are below on the research cited in this article.

I made a post on my Youtube Channel @wickedbofthewest on this topic check me out at the links below.

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Wickedbofthewest

Website: wickedbofthewestremoteconsulting.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WickedBoftheWestBusinessConsulting

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wickedbofthewestconsulting/

Twitter: @SDEubank

Work Cited

Johnson, S. K., Hekman, D. R., & Chan, E. T. (2019, February 7). If there’s only one woman in your candidate pool, there’s statistically no chance she’ll be hired. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved December 2, 2022, from https://hbr.org/2016/04/if-theres-only-one-woman-in-your-candidate-pool-theres-statistically-no-chance-shell-be-hired

Somers, M. (2022, April 12). Women are less likely than men to be promoted. here’s one reason why. MIT Sloan. Retrieved December 2, 2022, from https://mitsloan.mit.edu/ideas-made-to-matter/women-are-less-likely-men-to-be-promoted-heres-one-reason-why

Parker, K. (2020, August 14). Women more than men adjust their careers for family life. Pew Research Center. Retrieved December 2, 2022, from https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/10/01/women-more-than-men-adjust-their-careers-for-family-life/

Gonzales, M. (2022, July 7). Nearly 2 million fewer women in Labor Force. SHRM. Retrieved December 2, 2022, from https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/behavioral-competencies/global-and-cultural-effectiveness/pages/over-1-million-fewer-women-in-labor-force.aspx#:~:text=However%2C%201.1%20million%20women%20left,jobs%20lost%20since%20February%202020.

Fry, R. (2022, February 1). Some gender disparities widened in the U.S. workforce during the pandemic. Pew Research Center. Retrieved December 2, 2022, from https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2022/01/14/some-gender-disparities-widened-in-the-u-s-workforce-during-the-pandemic/

I am Finally Starting My Own Consulting Firm!

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I finally made my first video for my Youtube channel to promote my Business Consulting firm. Check out my company website at https://wickedbofthewestremoteconsulting.com/. You can also check me out on the following social media links.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WickedBoftheWestBusinessConsulting

Instagram: wickedbofthewestconsulting

Youtube: Wickedbofthewest

Twitter: @SDEubank

TACTICAL JOB HOPPING IN REMOTE WORK

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By Stephanie Diana Eubank

I don’t know about you, but when I was making my first resume in high school, the constant adage was that you shouldn’t look like you are job hopping.  You need to stay at a company for as long as you can. It looks good on a resume. However, this has not been the case for many decades now.  Especially not in the remote work community pre and post-COVID.

According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, as of 2022, the average employee stays in the same role for 4.1 years but only stays at the same employer for an average of 3 years. So far, the data matches the average onsite worker as well.  

As remote work is only 2020 becomes more of a norm than the 5.7% before COVID, remote workers jumped to 17.9% of all US workers in the US labor market per the Bureau of Labor and statistics as of 2020.  However, as of May 2022, 35.4% work remotely.

For clarification, let’s define what tactical job-hopping means.  Tactical job hopping refers to leaving one job or company to go to another within a 1–4-year time frame.  This is done to either shift careers because of changes to the industry or personal changes or to gain a higher title or higher pay.  When discussing tactical job hopping, the concepts that are outside of an employee’s control, like industry-wide layoffs (like that constantly happens in the financial industry to the point it is almost suspicious if you have been at the same company more than four years) or jobs that have outsourced industry-wide or have faded out due to automation.

Now those semantics are out of the way, let’s address another reason people use tactical job hopping that they won’t say in an interview.  Tactical Job Hopping to escape a toxic work environment. This reason is especially true for remote workers. There is an adage that people don’t quit jobs. They quit managers.  Well, this can also be the case for tactical job hopping.

Also, it is possible to create a toxic work environment in a remote workplace.  Unfortunately, it is an easier task in a remote workplace than one might want to think about.  The ease of developing a toxic remote workplace environment is often due to managers not being taught to manage and not being instructed on how to manage a remote workplace.  Remote work takes a different kind of management style.  As I have researched and published before, remote leadership must lead with empathy and true authenticity and communicate more inclusively and creatively. Where remote work has room to build healthy leadership boundaries, it takes more effort to show respect and openness to employees as a leader in remote work.

When leadership is toxic tactical job hopping allows onsite and remote workers to find an organizational culture that addresses these issues.  Being able to leave a toxic work situation is liberating and allows employees to prioritize their mental health and prevent burnout.  When employees prevent burnout through things like quiet quitting (establishing healthy boundaries) and acting on their wage (prioritizing work and life balance for better mental health without hurting the chain of command or leaving themselves open to being pigeonholed into one job or career field) burn out is prevented and helps to not just better productivity in an organization but also helps keep a stable economy moving by having a stable workforce.

This helps break the toxic work culture concept of staying for the sake of a resume duration to show a new company.  When tactical job hopping is considered by an employer, we prevent burnout and embrace new hires that are talented and emotionally mature. Tactical job hopping to not stay at a toxic workplace by not following the old construct of staying in the same company until they are done with you helps break the toxic work culture by breaking the cycle and not staying at a company longer than one should. Staying in a toxic workplace too long can cause workplace PTSD and this can take years of working in a nontoxic work environment and therapy to lessen the stress of workplace PTSD.

Which begs the question of Organizational Leadership, what can be done to prevent this in an onsite and remote workplace?

  1. Have Human Resources (HR) learn to spot signs of poor leadership and not just regard it as people leaving for better pay or benefits.  Investigate high turnover. 
  2. Invest in training managers on how to manage.  Don’t just assume if they are good at their job, they can lead your team.
  3. Train your managers on how to manage a remote workplace.  Remote leadership is a different ball game altogether.
    1. If you are having trouble knowing where to start developing remote leadership training check out my new consulting firm wickedbofthewestremoteconsulting.com
  4. Also, hiring leaders who are not typically those you think about for leadership in remote workplaces is another good idea. People who are better with interpersonal communication.  To learn more about what types of leadership work best in a remote workplace, check out my consulting firm’s website and social media. wickedbofthewestremoteconsulting.com

There are also some good books on these topics to help spot tactical job hopping from a toxic employee or those hurt by the economy.

Remember that sharing is caring, and if you enjoyed this article, please see my social media links and share.

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Wickedbofthewest

Website: wickedbofthewestremoteconsulting.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WickedBoftheWestBusinessConsulting

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wickedbofthewestconsulting/

Twitter: @SDEubank

References

Bureau of Labor and Statistics. (2022, September 22). Employee Tenure Summary. Bureau of Labor and Statistics. Retrieved November 29, 2022, from https://www.bls.gov/news.release/tenure.nr0.htm.

Bureau of Labor and Statistics. (2022, May 11). 7.7 percent of workers teleworked due to COVID-19 in April 2022. Bureau of Labor and Statistics. Retrieved November 29, 2022, from https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2022/7-7-percent-of-workers-teleworked-due-to-covid-19-in-april-2022.htm.

Liu, J. (2022, January 18). 4 shows a company is invested in remote work long-term. CNBC. Retrieved November 29, 2022, from https://www.cnbc.com/2022/01/18/how-to-know-if-a-company-is-really-committed-to-remote-work-long-term.html

McMenamin, L. (2021, April 19). Why long-term workplace trauma is a real phenomenon. BBC Worklife. Retrieved October 20, 2022, from https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20210415-why-long-term-workplace-trauma-is-a-real-phenomenon

Robinson, B. (2022, October 12). Experts say that remote work is here to stay and will increase into 2023. Forbes. Retrieved November 29, 2022, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/bryanrobinson/2022/02/01/remote-work-is-here-to-stay-and-will-increase-into-2023-experts-say/

How Is This Not Being Researched in Business: The Growing Issue of Workplace Violence.

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By: Stephanie Diana Eubank

For those who are not familiar with my work, while I start the process of defending and finishing my dissertation on remote work, I teach at California State University Stanislaus and East Bay.  Specifically, I teach Operations Management. I add a component on Remote Leadership and Remote Work from my research to help prepare future Business Leaders for the growing change to a virtual and hybrid workplace. I touched on the topic of Workplace PTSD and its relationship between what is referred to by business practitioners as Toxic Leadership and what is academically called X Type Leadership. Many of us have examples of bad leaders we have dealt with in our careers, especially at the earlier stages.  There are also managers whose leadership style doesn’t translate properly in a remote workplace and can come off as toxic.  Further remote work makes it so that toxic leaders are exposed and documented.

Unfortunately, the work culture tends to back these leaders because they produce a lot although they have a revolving door of employees and a bad reputation.  Rather than calculating all the exit interviews and other Human Resources data to analyze how this is not a sustainable leadership model.  Much like micromanagement, these sort of leadership tactics is only meant to be used in short bursts as needed, not a consistent method of leadership.  In these cases, those managers don’t know how to lead and instead mix up fear with respect.  This mixes up can have devastating implications past how it can hurt a business.

After pointing out these facts to my students, I shifted to the topic of workplace PTSD.  Which is a topic that has been studied mostly in psychology for decades now.  The news has been reporting workplace PTSD, which it goes horribly wrong and results in workplace violence. The news and academic research have even found an uptick in workplace violence, especially since the COVID Pandemic.

A recent and heart-breaking example (and personally, I cried talking about this to my classes and cried again while writing this article) was the family in Merced that was kidnaped and killed.  Per the referenced news articles, an employee who stole from the family’s business and was convicted and imprisoned was released this month.  He went to their business and kidnapped the owners (a wife, husband, and brother-in-law) and their eight-month-old baby girl.  After, the local police were on a massive manhunt and found a burnt van that they were abducted into and later found their bodies in the middle of a field in a neighboring county.  Per the news reports, the suspect, a past employee, believed they still owed him money.  His cohorts were found dead, and the suspect was found attempting suicide.

Another major example is found in a news article referencing a Valley Transit Authority Worker during the pandemic that shot up a transit station and killed many people.  The news and research have been sounding the alarm that the excuse for it is that businesses don’t work, and there is a growing concern about workplace violence. In fact, a referenced Reuters article from 2009 notes how these sorts of workplace violence tend to uptick during recessions.  As we look down the barrel of another recession, we must ask ourselves as leaders what we can do to help calm the waters?

Here are some suggestions for calming the waters and preventing workplace violence:

  1. Understand as leaders, we are human.  Also, understanding that our teams and employees are also human.  Once we all agree that we are flawed, then focus on managing the work, not the people.  Specifically by being empathetic and kind rather than just being nice/ superficial.
  2. Encourage employee development.  Point out to your teams that nothing is certain right now, and investing in developing new skills helps you at the company you are at and adds to your ability to take those skills with you on your career path.  It shows that you and the company care about them and want to help them invest in themselves.
  3. Train Leaders to communicate and lead in less stressful ways and work on toxic habits as a part of employee development.
  4. Promote Remote Work.  Remote work lowers the stresses of commuting and gives workers and leaders the ability to have space from ay toxic communication to relax in calmer ways. It also allows more flexibility and the ability to prioritize sleep.
  5. Leaders prioritize making the work culture include information on self-care and mental health resources.
  6. Stop pushing employees to work unpaid overtime and longer and harder hours than paid for.  It just adds to burnout and increases the possibility of workplace violence.

Also, here are some additional reading resources on workplace violence:

There is a growing risk of workplace violence to stress, burnout, and workplace PTSD, and with a growing recession, post-COVID issues have made a perfect storm.  To prevent unwanted outcomes in business, we do risk assessments, and these mindful business practices suggested may help protect us all.  Stay safe and remember the fundamental principle of business your employees and teams are your greatest resource, so treat them well.

References

Serrin, G. (2022, October 7). Here’s what we know about the Merced family kidnapping deaths. KCRA. Retrieved October 30, 2022, from https://www.kcra.com/article/merced-kidnapping-deaths-abducted-sikh-family-suspect-information/41548620#

Romo, V. (2021, May 27). We’re seeing a spike in workplace shootings. here’s why. NPR. Retrieved October 30, 2022, from https://www.npr.org/2021/05/27/1000745927/why-were-seeing-a-spike-in-workplace-shootings

Eubank, S. D. (2022, October 21). Workplace risks shouldn’t mirror risks of service members:  an article on the rise of PTSD caused by bad leadership even in a remote workplace. Dr. Stephanie Diana Eubank DBA Remote Team Research (AKA Dr. Bear). Retrieved October 30, 2022, from https://drstephaniebeardbaremoteresearch.org/2022/10/20/workplace-risks-shouldnt-mirror-risks-of-service-members-an-article-on-the-rise-of-ptsd-caused-by-bad-leadership-even-in-a-remote-workplace/

Bunch, K. (2021). When employees turn deadly at work. WebMD. Retrieved October 30, 2022, from https://www.webmd.com/men/features/when-employees-turn-deadly-at-work

Doucette, M. L., Bulzacchelli, M. T., Frattaroli, S., & Crifasi, C. K. (2019). Workplace homicides committed by firearm: Recent trends and narrative text analysis. Injury Epidemiology, 6(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40621-019-0184-0

Tiesman, H., Marsh, S., Konda, S., Tomasi, S., Wiegand, D., Hales, T., & Webb, S. (2022). Workplace violence during the covid-19 pandemic: March–October, 2020, United States. Journal of Safety Research, 82, 376–384. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsr.2022.07.004

Pihl-Thingvad, J., Andersen, L. L., Brandt, L. P., & Elklit, A. (2019). Are frequency and severity of workplace violence etiologic factors of posttraumatic stress disorder? A 1-year prospective study of 1,763 social educators. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 24(5), 543–555. https://doi.org/10.1037/ocp0000148

Wizner, K., Cunningham, K., Gaspar, F. W., Dewa, C. S., & Grunert, B. (2022). Occupational posttraumatic stress disorder and workplace violence in workers’ compensation claims. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 35(5), 1368–1380. https://doi.org/10.1002/jts.22836

Hampton, T. (2022, January 5). Study holds warning on pandemic drinking. Harvard Gazette. Retrieved October 30, 2022, from https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2022/01/covid-related-drinking-linked-to-rise-in-liver-disease/

Grossman, E. R., Benjamin-Neelon, S. E., & Sonnenschein, S. (2020). Alcohol consumption during the covid-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional survey of US adults. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(24), 9189. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17249189

Wulfhorst, E. (2009, April 22). Recession fuels worries of workplace violence. Reuters. Retrieved October 30, 2022, from https://www.reuters.com/article/us-workplace-violence/recession-fuels-worries-of-workplace-violence-idUSTRE53L0SV20090422

Workplace Risks Shouldn’t Mirror Risks of Service Members:  An Article on The Rise of PTSD Caused By Bad leadership Even In A Remote Workplace.

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By: Stephanie Diana Eubank

When the phrase Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (CPTSD) is uttered most of us think of the term shell shock and think of our brave service members and how this disorder affects them.  However, as detailed in the article, McMenamin (2021); published on the BBC PTSD is a growing issue in the workplace both in person and remotely.  The issue detailed in, McMenamin (2021); are not that people are coming into the workplace having PTSD but, rather people are developing in the workplace.  Welcome to the growing term and phenomenon of Workplace PTSD and Workplace CPTSD. 

The issue is both employees being abused in the workplace and developing workplace PTSD and those who have been suffering from what is called Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (CPTSD) where employees are being abused from one company to another.  There are also employees trying to recover from workplace PTSD from previous abuse because they cannot afford to take time off to recover.  The worst part about this phenomenon is that it isn’t new.

The article, Staglin (2022); which was published in Forbes comments on the fact that this has been a long-term issue with no name in the business industry.  There is something to say about the trauma that can be found in emotionally labor focused jobs like customer service and sales jobs. Also, there is something to discuss in remote work and essential onsite workers during the pandemic seeing some truly disturbing things and dealing with stress on unparallel levels.

Whereby some trauma is uncontrollable.  However, there are a lot of examples as detailed in, Petereit-Haack et al., (2020); of this being a more pervasive issue due to management being toxic and not knowing how to lead.  Which from my personal experience has been a significant factor in leadership also becoming traumatized by stress at work, promoting toxic people by other toxic leaders, and a general lack of understanding from leadership the difference between fear and respect.

Toxic workplaces where things like racism, agism, disability shaming, bullying, gaslighting, screaming among other Human Resource No, no’s also can contribute to PTSD and CPTSD in the workplaces.  Some, of these behaviors can become pervasive and embedded into organizational culture. However, attitudes are an overall reflection of leadership.  Although remote work allows for more diversity in the workplace and allows room to document and stop these behaviors it is not impossible to make a toxic workplace in a remote workplace.  It is hard to imagine however, I have experienced it firsthand even in a remote workplace. Worst of all many companies rather cover up the abuse and gaslight workers by saying that they cannot handle the wonderful leaders they have and their methods of authentic leadership.  (Which is a perverted interpretation of authentic leadership.  See, my article on authentic leadership.)

PTSD and having a toxic workplace that can contribute to PTSD in the workplace is a serious issue for business.  Not just for the obvious reasons of potential lawsuits for hostile work environments. According to, Bass (2019); employees who are suffering from PTSD in the workplace are less productive and have a lower morale.  When depression from PTSD gets bad enough employees can become a danger to themselves and others. 

So, the question becomes how should a business work towards fixing this problem?

  1. When a manager has multiple people reporting a hostile work environment or a revolving door of employees, Human Resources should take notice and do some training for that leader.
  2. Develop some communications training for all staff.  It will help keep everyone on the same page and address these issues.
  3. Teach leaders how to lead or prefer to promote and hire leaders with recommendations from past employees, not just employers.  How your team or past employees speak about working with you speaks miles about you more than anything else in a background check.
  4. Companies should work to give room for employees to speak out on bad behavior to address where all parties might need training.  This specific type should be room to speak out without reprisals. 
  5. Remote work, which gives room for employees to set healthy boundaries and room to heal from past workplace trauma, is also a helpful tool.  In-person makes it, so those who suffer from any disability or different abilities feel a need to mask their needs to blend in.  This can be stressful and slow healing as employees regain confidence in their jobs. This remote is a great tool.

For additional information about workplace PTSD and CPTSD, here are some great books to check out:

  • https://amzn.to/3TBUKBS
    • Harder, H. G., Wagner, S., & Rash, J. (2016). Mental illness in the workplace: Psychological disability management. Taylor and Francis.
  • https://amzn.to/3eK95O1
    • Tehrani, N. (2011). Managing trauma in the workplace: Supporting workers and Organizations. Routledge.
  • https://amzn.to/3TCKRnx
    • Nadeau, K. G. (1997). “Add in the workplace: Choices, changes, and challenges” (1st ed.). Routledge; 1st edition.
  • https://amzn.to/3TmLphI
    • Manning, K. (2021). The empathetic workplace. HarperCollins Leadership, an imprint of HarperCollins.

Remember, sharing is caring, and please feel free to share workplace incidents that felt traumatic. It is good for helping with the healing process.

Work Cited

McMenamin, L. (2021, April 19). Why long-term workplace trauma is a real phenomenon. BBC Worklife. Retrieved October 20, 2022, from https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20210415-why-long-term-workplace-trauma-is-a-real-phenomenon

Manion, L. (2022, February 4). When trauma is triggered at work. NAMI. Retrieved October 20, 2022, from https://www.nami.org/Blogs/NAMI-Blog/February-2022/When-Trauma-Is-Triggered-at-Work

Staglin, G. (2022, October 12). Trauma at the workplace, what to do about it. Forbes. Retrieved October 20, 2022, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/onemind/2021/11/10/trauma-at-the-workplace–and-what-to-do-about-it/?sh=6c3953b439e1

Petereit-Haack, G., Bolm-Audorff, U., Romero Starke, K., & Seidler, A. (2020). Occupational risk for post-traumatic stress disorder and trauma-related depression: A systematic review with meta-analysis. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(24), 9369. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17249369

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7765156/

Bass, B. (2019, August 8). Increasing awareness of the impact of PTSD in the Workplace. Sedgwick. Retrieved October 20, 2022, from https://www.sedgwick.com/blog/2019/08/08/increasing-awareness-of-the-impact-of-ptsd-in-the-workplace

The Real Enemy of Remote Work… Middle Management

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By Stephanie Diana Eubank

Several articles on companies speaking out about wanting to force workers to come back to the office regardless of current COVID and Monkey Pox surges. In one most recent article from JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon, Tsipursky (2022); commented on not wanting to allow for remote work anymore.  The arguments used are the same that have been made since the 1980s, which are still moot as COVID taught us that remote workers are just as productive at home as in the office. While some organizations have leadership that is set in their ways, there is a real enemy of remote work, and it isn’t the corporations as one would think. 

The real enemy of remote work is middle management.  And there are five reasons why middle management is so against remote workers.

  • Remote work means middle managers must do additional work to help the team bond.

In remote workplaces, team bonding can be strained by geographical location and the strain of COVID.  The bonding in a team, be it remote or in-person, requires managers to facilitate and allow for some conversation and socializing among employees.  Business, after all, is a social science. However, in a remote workplace, managers at all levels need to help facilitate collaboration and social interactions with team members.

The remote workplace makes that a harder job for managers because, in onsite workplaces, people bump into each other or participate in office functions which lower the work managers must do directly.  Low socialization among remote workers can hinder morale and employee loyalty.  This is detailed in the Harvard Business article; Heskett (2021) notes all the ways remote work changes the work style for middle managers. Thus, contributing to employees feeling the need to look for greener pastures in this Great Resignation world that the business arena is in.

  • Middle managers must use qualitative and quantitative analysis to properly measure productivity in remote work.

With onsite workplaces, employers and middle managers can use physical observations with whatever method they use to measure Key Performance Indicators, otherwise known as KPIs.  However, in a remote workplace, the physical observation is gone, and middle managers.  As detailed in Jordan (2022), remote leaders rely on communications tools like Microsoft Teams and Slack.  As seen in the book Teams for Dummies, Rosemarie (2021); (and found on this link https://amzn.to/3KoSSZZ), the system was not designed to monitor productivity.  It was designed to aid in remote communications.  As a person who has used Teams in the workplace, the system has flaws, such as unless the app is open on one’s computer and the mouse constantly moves over it, then it only reads someone as available if they are using teams actively.  No one is using Teams or any communication system that much.  It would mean the person being available isn’t using any other program on the computer.  Also, several users complain that when using the app on their phone, even showing availability on the app, the computer version reads away. Even when someone is using both apps simultaneously at one’s desk. 

This makes it so employees either are marked against them for lack of attendance or get anti-boss ware devices like these:

Management being unaware or choosing not to recognize how these systems are not designed to monitor productivity is hurting morale and encouraging what is called “Slow Quitting,” contributing to the Great Resignation.  To keep employee retention up, middle management managers must find quantitative and qualitative methods to display remote employees’ work.  This means managers must look at the quality of work and the macro and micro view of managing productivity in a remote workplace.  There are methods for that, but there is math involved.  I recommend reading Pullan (2022), which can be found on Amazon at https://amzn.to/3pOgPQL .

  • Remote work makes it so that middle managers cannot just be managers anymore they must be producing.

In the past, within remote workplaces, middle management has been able to just work on the operational duties of management.  As detailed in Kelly (2021), managers do not enjoy remote workplaces because now they are forced to be producing managers instead of just focusing on leadership.  Requiring all managers to lead by example and creating a need to change leadership tactics known as X Theory Leadership style.  X Theory Leadership often takes the form of an aggressive, results-driven method using fear in what is called Y theory leadership.  Y Theory Leadership is leading authentically as oneself with humility and empathy.  Being in the trenches and working shoulder to shoulder digitally with one’s team based on research data often also creates the dynamic of shared leadership.  And for many X theory leaders, that’s the only arrow in their quiver as they are often taught to lead by promotion for being, say, the best sales rep in the region, which is not a leadership qualification.  Knowing how to manage the work and understand people is.  This is a concept learned in business coursework.  Which is a big reason why business schools and business instructors like me exist.

  • Remote work makes middle managers obsolete.

Shared Leadership, as defined in Han & Hazard (2022), is where teams develop autonomy and thus create a leadership dynamic within the group that all members contribute.  This often happens in remote teams and within remote workplaces. 

Shared leadership is often mixed up with a term called group thinks.  Groupthink is where no original ideas happen because the group starts to develop the same opinion on the same topics.  Basically, the embodiment of the commercial from the 90s with beloved comedian Robin Williams as the Genie stating, “Great minds think alike.  Wrong! Great minds think for themselves”.  Everyone thinks alike within the group and cannot think for themselves. Often this phenomenon is created when leaders lead with fear or hire only toxic positivity or Yes people to their teams.

Shared Leadership makes it so that each person is responsible for their contribution. The team joins forces without a designated leader, takes responsibility, and reaches out to one another for assistance. In a nutshell, they collaborate fully and don’t have an assigned leader. This is bad news for middle management cause then they aren’t necessarily needed.  If everyone is sharing leadership, a manager producing or not is required.

  • Remote workers endanger their higher income, which is unneeded.

Lastly, the biggest reason middle management doesn’t push for more remote work comes from the brass tax.  Money. See, if shared leadership develops in remote work and corporations move away from the upward management ladder model, then there is no reason to pay managers more than the pay of those doing the work.  According to the Washington Post article by McGregor (2021), in the United States, firms pay between 5%-20% more to managers than employees to middle management.  Senior management has a bigger gap of 7.9 times what a middle manager makes.  Leaders could use that money to further compensate teams if there were no middle managers or need for them.  Which would drastically lower their potential income.  

Conclusion: Remote work has already shaken up the world as we know it.  However, remote work is not done, changing how we do everything.  It will change how we design leadership dynamics and planning in the business arena and how we bond with each other.  So, many leaders scream to the mountains that they want everything to return to normal.  But business is meant to evolve and change, just like any concept in nature.  Business as a function will shift.  How many middle managers will be left in the dust for want of rising to the occasion?

Work Cited

Han, S. J., & Hazard, N. (2022). Shared leadership in virtual teams at work: Practical strategies and research suggestions for human resource development. Human Resource Development Review, 153448432210933. https://doi.org/10.1177/15344843221093376

Website https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/15344843221093376

Heskett, J. (2021, March 1). What does remote work mean for middle managers? HBS Working Knowledge. Retrieved August 27, 2022, from https://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/what-does-remote-work-mean-for-middle-managers

Jordan, R. (2022, April 20). Mastering digital leadership in the remote work environment. Smarter Business Review. Retrieved August 27, 2022, from https://www.ibm.com/blogs/services/2022/03/08/mastering-digital-leadership-in-the-remote-work-environment/

Kelly, J. (2021, March 19). How CEOS and workers feel about working remotely or returning to the Office. Forbes. Retrieved August 27, 2022, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackkelly/2021/03/19/how-ceos-and-workers-feel-about-working-remotely-or-returning-to-the-office/?sh=51bbd9a29d99

McGregor, J. (2021, December 5). The income gap between bosses and workers is getting even bigger. The Washington Post. Retrieved August 27, 2022, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/on-leadership/wp/2015/03/13/the-income-gap-between-bosses-and-workers-is-getting-even-bigger-worldwide/

Pullan, P. (2022). Virtual leadership practical strategies for success with remote or hybrid work and teams. Kogan Page.

https://amzn.to/3pOgPQL

Rosemarie, W. (2021). Microsoft Teams for dummies. John Wiley Sons Inc.

https://amzn.to/3KoSSZZ

Tsipursky, G. (2022, August 23). Commentary: Here’s what JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon got wrong–and Meta got right–about remote work. Fortune. Retrieved August 27, 2022, from https://fortune.com/2022/08/23/what-jp-morgan-ceo-jamie-dimon-got-wronga-meta-remote-work-diversity-careers-gleb-tsipursky/

Why Are Companies Having Fits Over Remote Work Digital Nomads?

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By Stephanie Diana Eubank

Remote work is supposed to provide workers with more work and life balance.  This includes simple concepts like being able to work in different parts of one’s home or in the yard or traveling.  With so many companies and industries making a fuss about people taking their time off, complaining when staff takes their work laptop to go on trips so that they can enjoy the area after hours or enjoy the mental health benefits a change of scenery provides an odd conflict.  From personal experience, management has become concerned and reprimanded me for working out in my backyard.  I felt a little confined, so I went to do my afternoon meeting outside to get a little sun.  To change locations or work outside on my property remotely is one of the ways detailed in Wiest (2020); remote work can help improve mental health. 

Burnout, according to the research in the Fortune article by Wiest (2020), is a major factor in employee retention.  Small steps can be taken to help with the mental health aspects of burnout through remote work.  Travel as a method to utilize the work-life balance of remote is another way to combat burnout and other mental health issues caused by the isolation of remote work.  As detailed in the article by Kemmis (2021), the term digital nomad has been coined to reference people who use their time to travel and work remotely.  There have even been findings that working in places like coffee shops, libraries, or other places adds to balance and can help with feelings of isolation.  I enjoy taking my laptop to the library or restaurants with indoor playgrounds to do my homework or take classes allowing my children to have fun while I balance self-improvement and caring for my children. 

The comment that home is where the wifi is as an effort to balance having a career while seeing the world, especially after the COVID lockdowns. The article also details that not all people vacation as part of being a digital nomad but live for months or years in other countries to enhance their experience. The article, Ekstein (2022), posted on Bloomberg, notes how digital nomads are also part of a fiscal movement redefining the cultivation of building wealth and blending work/ life balance. Specifically, Ekstein (2022); notes millennials, Gen Z, and even some semi-retired remote workers have been using the mobile lifestyle of RV life. Again, embracing the concept of home is where the wifi is to both afford to travel and enjoy their work.  The example I can give is some of my professors at the doctorate level live on their boat, travel up and down the Gulf of Mexico, and make sure to doc on days they teach to do so remotely.  I have worked with other professors and managers, constantly traveling to enjoy their families while meeting work commitments remotely. 

So, why are companies upset that workers are traveling or working in different places in their homes?  The Fortune article, Kelly (2022), specifies it isn’t companies having the problem with the remote worker’s location.  In the article, Kelly (2022); states it is specifically middle management.  The reason is that remote work has made it so that employees can work independently and won’t need middle management workers, especially with productivity no longer being linked to a specific amount of hours work is a progressing trend. Also, it is cited in Kelly (2022); that middle management is often only armed with micromanagement as the tool to manage employees and teams.  Micromanagement as a long-term management plan is not feasible in a remote workplace.  In fact, this behavior in management is linked to creating a toxic work environment and can breed a hostile work environment.  Although per the article by Liu (2021), these leaders who take Umbridge on remote work locations and digital nomads argue that not being in the stationary workstation can always lead to data theft.  However, there are basic tools remote workers can use to mitigate these issues. 

The tools that can be easily obtained and easy to afford to combat any data thefts are as follows:

Conclusion: Some leaders are taking a stance with remote workers about their physical location, which is folly.  It is a waste of leaders’ time because there are simple steps to protect data. If they require that of employees, it will limit issues and help prevent further push and pull conflicts with remote workers going forward in the Great Resignation.  Instead, leaders must practice authentic leadership, learn about their teams, and support them.  That’s what real leaders do.

If you have stories of leaders making a fuss about personal location, leave a comment here or on Twitter @SDEubank, and let’s talk about it. Remember sharing is caring.

Work Cited

Ekstein, N. (2022, February 7). How Working From Home Will Permanently Change the Way We Travel. Bloomberg.com. Retrieved August 1, 2022, from https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-02-07/how-working-from-home-will-permanently-change-the-way-we-travel

Kelly, J. (2022, April 14). The real reasons why companies don’t want you to work remotely. Forbes. Retrieved August 1, 2022, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackkelly/2021/08/17/the-real-reasons-why-companies-dont-want-you-to-work-remotely/?sh=41cda83a7fb3

Kemmis, S. (2021, April 14). How to rethink ‘home’ and ‘travel’ if your job is now remote. NerdWallet. Retrieved August 1, 2022, from https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/travel/working-remotely-while-traveling-considerations

Liu, J. (2021, April 8). Why a remote job might not mean you can work from anywhere. CNBC. Retrieved August 1, 2022, from https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/08/why-a-remote-job-might-not-mean-you-can-work-from-anywhere.html

Wiest, B. (2020, September 11). Remote work shown to significantly improve mental health, 80% prefer flex options post-pandemic. Forbes. Retrieved August 2, 2022, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/briannawiest/2020/09/11/remote-work-shown-to-significantly-improve-mental-health-80-prefer-flex-options-post-pandemic/?sh=4bdb97945d47

Four Concepts in Mentorship That Are Still Important, Especially in a Post-COVID World

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By Stephanie Diana Eubank

I have worked in the financial industry for over twelve years now.  While working in the financial industry, I have been blessed to have three mentors throughout my career. Two of them are women, and one identified as a man and happened to be a member of the LBGTQ community.  The diversity of my mentors has helped me as a leader and a college-level business instructor and given me a more global perspective.  I have truly been blessed to have such wonderful mentors.  Although one of my mentors Dean Marks, passed away this week after a long hard battle with cancer.  He is missed by not just me but all those in our field which he inspired. 

With COVID dividing leaders and aspiring leaders of all walks of life, there are four concepts to consider in mentorship that are often swept under the rug.  These four concepts are true for onsite and remote workplaces.  However, with remote work becoming more normative, the focus needs to be on how mentorship can be addressed in a remote work environment. 

The concept in Mentorship #1 is Ambiguousness of what mentorship is.

Mentors play a vital role in business employee development and leadership training.  Since COVID and the lockdowns connecting with mentors and networking has become a more vital skill than ever.  Not just for mentees but for those who are mentoring.   This fact has never been truer than now as we try to adjust to the new normal that is COVID.  In the book, Rolfe (2021), which can be found on Amazon at https://amzn.to/3PIp63H talks about the fact that mentoring often is an ambiguous term and can be confusing for both mentors and mentees.  In this book, Rolfe (2021); also takes a practical approach versus a theoretical approach. The book Rolfe (2021) also details the importance of communication, boundaries, and how to structure mentorship so proper implementation can be used.

The concept in Mentorship #2 is Encouraging Diversity in Leadership.

As a woman, there can be stigmas about being mentored regardless of the gender of one’s mentor.  As detailed in the book, Sandberg (2013); can be found at https://amzn.to/3IUyL4Z.  Many are familiar with the book “Lean In” by Sandberg (2013); the research noted within both practical and observational findings by Sandberg and data researched to support the findings.  The book Sandberg (2013); touches on the fact that there are few women of any race or creed in places of leadership.  With COVID hurting women’s careers as they fight to get into and stay in places of leadership in a growing remote workplace, mentorship has never been more important towards growing diversity in leadership and business. Although may criticize Sandberg for her privileged vantage point that not all women can enjoy.  However, she raises interesting points on how women being in places of leadership paves the way for positive change and creative problem-solving through diversity.  With COVID rates surging and women either having to leave the workforce or work remotely while balancing childcare and child education while the pandemic rage on mentorship is important and can make it difficult for mentors and mentees to ask for the help needed to progress.

The concept in Mentorship #3 Asking for Help Is a Strength.

Asking for help is a soft skill that is often ignored in leadership.   Mentors are a great resource in learning how to effectively ask for help and for mentees to learn what resources they truly have. Moreover, in a remote workplace, often leaders see asking for help as a weakness.  Which is a toxic leadership trait for any leader. Teams asking for help and leaders asking for help keep turn times under control and support workers regardless of onsite or remote workplaces. An interesting book that tackles this topic of asking for and receiving help in a leadership role is Brand (2019), which is found at https://amzn.to/3PmPT60.  It seems unconventional to read mentoring advice from Russel Brand, but his book highlights the concept of toxic leadership, where often, employees are not regarded as an organization’s strongest asset.  Also, in the book Brand (2019); it is noted that asking for help even before COVID has always been regarded as a weakness when the need for help is poor planning on leadership, and employees asking for help really allows leaders to know when the house is on fire in time to save it.

The concept in Mentorship #4 To Thy Own Self Be True.

Another concept discussed in the book Maxwell (2021), found at https://amzn.to/3v5r06x is the concept of authentic leadership and knowing oneself. Everyone has blind spots regarding our own personal flaws.  As leaders, we need to be introspective, not just with how we lead but how we pick mentees.  The book Maxwell (2021) discusses how knowing we and what works to lead authentically is important as leaders.  However, some concepts of knowing oneself include knowing what leadership styles don’t work in the remote world. 

Conclusion: I have been blessed to have many mentors who are diverse leaders in their rights. Remote work has made mentorship even more important to furthering the training of future leaders. In researching mentor books, four concepts emerged in mentoring.  The four concepts are as follows:

  1. The rules of mentoring are ambiguous and, as detailed in Rolfe (2021), note how establishing boundaries and give some more structure to mentorship. The book, Rolfe (2021) also notes the importance of communication which has never been more important than in a remote workplace.
  2. Mentorship needs to encourage diversity.  As detailed in the book, Sandberg (2013); shows how women in leadership help develop a more inclusive leadership plan and creative problem-solving.  As many of us have learned, COVID women have had to leave the workplace or convert to remote as a permanent need to address child or family care.  It doesn’t matter if you are a male or female leader. If you find someone who wants you to mentor them, especially women and minorities, pay it forward as your mentors did. High tides raise all boat mentorship making a leader more versatile. It doesn’t phase you out.
  3. It is almost always a cliché comment that communication is key to… well, everything.  Asking for help is communicating!  As detailed in Brand (2019), asking for help, regardless of being a leader or a would-be leader, is not a weakness.  It is a sign of understanding limitations and can save an organization.  We all need help from time to time, and teams needing help are a sign that there needs to be a pivot in implementing the process.  Teams and employees are a company’s most valuable resources, and leaders must treat them as such.
  4. Lastly, authentic leadership and understanding our strengths and flaws as people and leaders. The book Maxwell (2021), the adage to know thy self is true.  Failures teach us more than our successes; those are some of the things that should be shared so that mentees learn from their mistakes.  Another concept is some of these flaws can also be considered toxic in a remote work environment as some leadership methods just don’t translate pleasantly in remote workplaces.

These four concepts are important to remember when mentoring remotely because having the bravery to reach out and ask for help and mentoring is half the battle of working in a remote workplace.  Reaching out to mentors with remote employees’ professional isolation is healthy for all involved.  I don’t know where I would be today without my mentors, and the fact that one of them has passed is a great loss to the community.  I only hope I positively impact my mentees as he has on me.

If you enjoyed this article, remember that sharing is caring.  Also, if you have a mentor you want to discuss, leave a comment. 

Work Cited

Brand, R. (2019). Mentors: How to help and be helped. Henry Holt.

https://amzn.to/3PmPT60

Maxwell, J. C. (2021). The self-aware leader: Play to your strengths, unleash your team: Play to your strengths, unleash your team. HarperCollins Leadership.

https://amzn.to/3v5r06x

Rolfe, A. (2021). Mentoring: Mindset, skills and tools. Mentoring Works.

https://amzn.to/3PIp63H

Sandberg, S. (2013). Lean in: Women, work, and the will to lead. Deckle Edge.

https://amzn.to/3IUyL4Z