Tag: #workingmom

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

Remote Work is the Key to Increasing Creativity in the Workplace by Encouraging Diversity.

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By: Stephanie Diana Eubank

The topic of diversity in the workplace is a stimulant for creative problem solving and has been well researched and embraced in business.  In the Forbes article, Agona (2021); explains in layman’s terms why diversity creates more creative problem-solving.  In a nutshell, as detailed in, Agona (2021), workplaces with people with the same culture and similar backgrounds can create group thinking and, yes, people.  The article, Agona (2021); goes on to note that workplaces with diverse workforces have more dissenting ideas.  It may seem counterintuitive to have “no” people on one’s team, but as detailed in, Agona (2021); the diversity and difference of opinions and views leave room for developing creative problem-solving.

Companies that want to expand diversity to increase collaboration and creative problem-solving have a unique opportunity to do so in remote workplaces.  Sadly, many companies are missing out by pushing back against remote work.  As detailed in, Hunt (2021); remote workplaces allow for people from diverse, social, ethnic, and geographic locations.  Additionally, in the Forbes article, Hunt (2021); notes that single parents and women benefit from remote work as it allows more balance between life and work.

In the past companies often had to address geographic issues by transplanting or having to relocate workers from one area to a mecca of the industry like Silicon Valley.  Other issues when companies relocated to areas such as Texas to cut costs of running a business and paying to relocate employees or losing a large proportion of the staff because relocation would cause professional isolation.  As detailed in Cascio (2000), professional and geographical isolation has been long documented issues in remote work. The pandemic has since made this into an opportunity.   

In a LinkedIn article, McLaren (2021); details how the pandemic made many companies convert to remote, allowing expanded use of telecommunications tools like Zoom and Teams to be used more frequently and normalized.  Further detailed in the article, McLaren (2021); the wide utilization of remote work has helped dwindle the need for relocation and the costs for companies.  Further remote work has helped expand the use of telecommunication systems to dispel the age-old argument that remote work in business dulls collaboration and productivity. 

The facts about remote work and diversity and how remote work aids inclusivity shifts the conversation to ask how does a company battling the Great Resignation deal with attracting and retaining a diverse workforce?  As detailed in the article by White (2021), there are three ways to accomplish this.

  1. Encourage remote work and be willing to negotiate remote or hybrid work.
  2. Develop more comprehensive PTO plans and make proper accommodations regarding COVID and family leave. 
  3. Hiring managers who understand that employees are humans and respect the boundaries of their personal time. 

To quote one of my industry mentors, leaders need to remember to “Focus on managing the work not managing the people”.  Developing that concept in a nutshell as part of remote organizational culture will encourage employee retention and curb the stress on leaders and followers.

In conclusion, companies need to encourage remote work as a tool to increase diversity in the workplace.  The recession and the great resignation are teaching all sectors of business the value of creative problem solving and how diversity helps encourage collaborative thoughts.  Remote work is an underused tool to help give organizations the competitive advantage needed to survive the trials ahead.

If you would like to read more on remote work and diversity, please see the citations below. Also, if you like this post, be sure to leave a comment, like, and subscribe. Sharing is caring, so please share far and wide.

Work Cited

Agona, L. (2021, October 13). Council post: Is remote work a diversity and inclusion issue? Forbes. Retrieved July 11, 2022, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescommunicationscouncil/2021/10/13/is-remote-work-a-diversity-and-inclusion-issue/?sh=3f16d771626c

Cascio, W. F. (2000). Managing a virtual workplace. Academy of Management Perspectives, 14(3), 81–90. https://doi.org/10.5465/ame.2000.4468068

Hunt, S. T. (2021, May 12). SAP brandvoice: How hybrid remote work improves diversity and inclusion. Forbes. Retrieved July 8, 2022, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/sap/2021/05/12/how-hybrid-remote-work-improves-diversity-and-inclusion/?sh=8965f01321fe

McLaren, S. (2021, February 3). Why the rise of remote work may help companies become more diverse – and more inclusive. LinkedIn. Retrieved July 11, 2022, from https://www.linkedin.com/business/talent/blog/talent-acquisition/why-remote-work-may-help-companies-become-more-diverse

White, N. (2021, May 27). Here’s how to foster diversity, equity and inclusion in a remote-work world. Entrepreneur. Retrieved July 11, 2022, from https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/372149

Six Reasons Why Companies Should Promote Remote Work as the Primary Workplace Environment?

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By: Stephanie Diana Eubank

There are a number of articles in the news about companies pushing back against remote workers.  A particularly glaring example is the NBC News article, Bendix (2022), which is cited below, commenting on Elon Musk stating that remote work is “no longer acceptable.”  There have been a number of old-school comments that have, according to the article written by Cascio (2000), noted excuses about hindrances to collaboration that have been bought up since the 1980s.  (Yes, remote work has been a concept researched in business since the 1980s.  Sadly, it took a pandemic for the world to see that remote work is the future.)  The research cited from SHRM, Maurer (2021); comments on how comments of lack of productivity and lack of collaboration in remote workplaces that have been spouted sing the ’80s is flat out wrong, and the lockdowns during the pandemic proved it.

These arguments from leadership on the validity of remote work are causing the round in circles argument that has sparked what is coined “The Great Resignation.”  The Great Resignation is famous for employees no longer asking for remote workplaces but rather demanding remote workplaces.

As an effort to stop the merry-go-round of arguments from leadership, this article is to address why companies should encourage remote work as it is for their (business industry as a whole) best interests. Here is a list of why businesses should work to pivot and encourage the expansion of remote work.

  1. Remote workers take less time off.  This is a true statement about remote workers as they have a better ability to coordinate doctor’s appointments and family and friends engagements, among other personal needs, during break and lunch hours in a remote workplace.  Where in an onsite capacity, there is often the physical distance between work and home, and this can create delays, and tardiness for employees before, during, and after work.  Remote workers also take fewer sick days as they power through work while sick and do not infect the entire workforce when these workers work from home. This offers employees a level of freedom not seen in previous generations.
  2. Investors crave more transparency of the work and products being created.  Remote work gives businesses more transparency to show investors.  Remote work is also an easy way to provide additional transparency to investors. 
  3. Remote work allows for more workers to balance work and family.  Which, I hear a lot of business owners ask me, “why does that benefit business”?  According to the most recent PEWs research, Kramer (2021); the United States of America has the highest single-parent household demographic in the country. According to the PEWs Research, Kramer (2021), 23% of American households are single-parent households.  For business leaders who may have staffing issues finding quality workers to come onsite is difficult.  And those they can hire may have attendance issues, tardiness, and issues with obtaining childcare.

Remote work allows employees to balance this issue and make child care more affordable.  (Speaking from a mother’s perspective, it is easier and cheaper to get a nanny in the home while I am at home than to drop my children at daycare. Moreover, businesses forget or discriminate against those employees who have families. In the Forbes article, Ibarra et al. (2017); noted that men, especially single men without children, tend to be promoted more. They are promoted more than women or men with children, regardless of marital status. According to Ibarra et al. (2017), businesses tend to view single men as “hungry” and more “go-getters.” 

However, now that we are in a pandemic and unprecedented recession, businesses are undervaluing people with families.  People with families are both skilled and show commitment.  Giving these employees a remote workplace allows for increasing employee retention and maintaining a skilled workforce.  Another thing major corporation forgets on this topic is that employee retention is both cheaper than recruiting and looks better to investors and the public compared to a publicized revolving door of employees.

  • Companies argue that there is a skilled labor shortage.  This is a misnomer because companies are not working to attract one of the biggest demographic of educated and skilled labor.  Specifically women. As detailed in the research article, Perry (2021); noted that women for the twelve years of the research project have consistently all the doctorate degrees awarded in the United States been awarded to women. In the master’s degree article, Perry (2021); notes women earned 60% of the awarded master’s degrees.  In the article, Perry (2021); goes on to talk about how these women did not get advanced degrees in underwater basket weaving or other nonsensical programs.  The women detailed in the research of Perry (2021); earned degrees in STEM, business, and other marketable and needed skills. According to the Washington Post article, Collins et al. (2021); show that mothers’ employment has dropped by over 7% as of 2021.  This information is further supported by Kramer (2021); which noted that of the 23% of single parents in the US, single moms are the biggest demographic of single parents.  Women are slow to return to the workforce because of a lack of childcare.  This means companies not investing in remote work are missing out on the opportunity to get the edge on the completion by having the skilled and highly educated demographic of women. 
  • Two basic principles are taught in business school regarding leadership and development.  One of your employees is an organization’s greatest resource.  The second is that diversity in an organization allows for more creative problem-solving.  In the Forbes article, Hunt (2021); Professor Hunt notes that remote work encourages diversity.  In the article, Hunt (2021); goes on to repeat the concept that diversity in the workplace increases creativity.  This flies in the face of the argument used since the 1980s that remote work decreases creativity and collaboration. 
  • So, many companies get subsidies and tax write-offs, among other governmental benefits in the United States.  This is not a well-hidden secret. With remote work, employees have the ability to spread out and live in less expensive areas.  The real estate market has noted since the start of the pandemic of remote workers moving to lower-income areas such as Texas, Kentucky, and Mississippi.  With these workers relocating, they are bringing their “big city money.”  As such, this has made it so many of these communities experience unprecedented growth.   Showing that business is doing what the government has been unable to do with regard to lifting up struggling communities.  This gives businesses more wiggle room to negotiate more benefits within governmental support.  However, this negotiating power that companies now have predicates on companies’ willingness to let go of old management concepts and evolve with how the world has changed. This change to remote work will benefit all around if the fear of change is managed more.

All six of these reasons are in addition to the fact remote workplaces allow for lower overhead costs, and give companies the ability to pare down the real estate and other physical operations costs.  Making remote work even more of a win-win scenario.  The reasons noted above are topics that have been researched since at least 80’, especially in relation to remote work specifically. All the research cited in this article is noted below in the work cited in case you want to read further. 

The conclusion to this article is that remote work is an unprecedented opportunity for business, and many of the most outspoken thought leaders are giving pushback to all industries’ detriment.  Especially these thought leaders saying no to remote work are influencing other leaders to cut their own noses off despite their faces.   The business world and the workplace where business is conducted are changing, and companies either evolve or share the fate of dinosaurs.

Work Cited

Bendix, A. (2022, June 8). Musk is pushing staff back to the office, but the research is only partly on his side. NBCNews.com. Retrieved July 7, 2022, from https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/elon-musk-staff-back-office-research-mixed-rcna32136

Cascio, W. F. (2000). Managing a virtual workplace. Academy of Management Perspectives, 14(3), 81–90. https://doi.org/10.5465/ame.2000.4468068

https://journals.aom.org/doi/abs/10.5465/ame.2000.4468068

Collins, C., Ruppanner, L., & Scarborough, W. J. (2021, November 8). Analysis | why haven’t U.S. mothers returned to work? the child-care infrastructure they need is still missing. The Washington Post. Retrieved July 8, 2022, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/11/08/why-havent-us-mothers-returned-work-child-care-infrastructure-they-need-is-still-missing/

Hunt, S. T. (2021, May 12). SAP brandvoice: How hybrid remote work improves diversity and inclusion. Forbes. Retrieved July 8, 2022, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/sap/2021/05/12/how-hybrid-remote-work-improves-diversity-and-inclusion/?sh=8965f01321fe

Ibarra, H., Carter, N. M., & Silva, C. (2017, September 7). Why men still get more promotions than women. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved July 8, 2022, from https://hbr.org/2010/09/why-men-still-get-more-promotions-than-women

Kramer, S. (2021, May 28). U.S. has world’s highest rate of children living in single-parent households. Pew Research Center. Retrieved July 8, 2022, from https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/12/12/u-s-children-more-likely-than-children-in-other-countries-to-live-with-just-one-parent/

Maurer, R. (2021, July 6). Study finds productivity not deterred by shift to remote work. SHRM. Retrieved July 7, 2022, from https://www.shrm.org/hr-today/news/hr-news/pages/study-productivity-shift-remote-work-covid-coronavirus.aspx

Perry, M. (2021, October 14). Women earned the majority of doctoral degrees in 2020 for the 12th … American Enterprise Institute. Retrieved July 8, 2022, from https://www.aei.org/carpe-diem/women-earned-the-majority-of-doctoral-degrees-in-2020-for-the-12th-straight-year-and-outnumber-men-in-grad-school-148-to-100/

Answer To Industry Leaders on Remote Work

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By: Stephanie Diana Eubank AKA Dr Bear DBA

There is an interesting Fortune article, https://fortune.com/2022/04/05/google-work-from-home-hybrid-return-to-office-eric-schmidt/ which, Lodewick (2022); is cited in APA format below.  In said article, Lodewick (2022); interviews Google’s former CEO Eric Schmidt on the topic of remote work and Google’s choice to work towards more of a hybrid model.  Where in the article it is noted that Schmidt calls himself a traditionalist regarding remote work there are some changes to the business landscape that can no longer be traditional and practiced. 

I want to start with saying that I mean no disrespect to Eric Schmidt.  He is still an OG within business and tech industries with experience running one of the biggest organizations on the planet.  His opinion is valid.  However, businesses and growing companies seeing this opinion from Schmidt, needs to factor in the changes in the business landscape since he served with Google in 2001 to 2011. 

Such as in the article, Laker (2022); which is a Forbs article that can be found at https://www.forbes.com/sites/benjaminlaker/2022/02/17/from-the-great-resignation-to-the-great-return-bringing-back-the-workforce/?sh=11bdc91025e5 .  In the article, Laker (2022); it is detailed how companies are finding during the pandemic and what has been coined as the “Great Resignation”, companies not offering remote positions or negotiating remote work are having a hard time recruiting.  As an area of expertise in the business arena the concept of working in the office is too old school for the changing market.  Companies pushing back against this growing work preference is really companies cutting off their noses despite their faces.  Remote work saves companies time and money.  Also allows for managers to build boundaries while also being true authentic leaders.  Meaning leaders can manage with empathy and the best parts about being human. The only difference is leaders must reach out to their teams and put effort into team bonding and collaboration. 

Further the article from Fortune, Lodewick (2022); Schmidt makes some rather ageist comments about hiring young graduates and how onsite work allowed him to mentor and advise these hires on professional behavior, and proper dress.  Those are concepts that have changed dramatically since COVID.  We are seeing up and down the chain employees and leaders tossing old dress code norms for comfort and dressing showier only for special occasions. Also, remote work allows for more mentorship in proper professional decorum without risk of Human Resource nightmares.  Speaking from experience people who are HR nightmares from the remote workplace and don’t learn from their lessons they are going to be worse in the office.  Mostly because on site means

The article, Lodewick (2022); also noted that the former head of Human Resources at Google saw the method of using a hybrid program to trick employees into getting used to the office again.  Essentially the thought is that someone employees can be tricked into wanting to come back to the office full time.  The article by Forbes, https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinesscouncil/2022/01/27/why-leaders-need-to-reevaluate-how-they-manage-their-workforce-today/?sh=71191ef6118e , cited below as Licina (2022); notes this method is a mistake in the long run.  Within the Forbes article, Licina (2022); it cites how leaders need to learn to lead in a remote work environment.  Also, that employees since COVID have taken a step back and re-evaluated what is most important to them and a commute and the inflation of housing near cities where many industry leaders are located are not top priorities for employees.  Not to mention overcrowding and COVID as a risk. 

Conclusion: Where the old school methods of onsite work have been helpful for companies in the past that’s not the case today.  Today companies hoping to trick their employees to come back to the office full time again will backfire making another talent shortage. Remote workers are investing outside of Silicon Valley, and other major metros and enjoying an unprecedented work life balance.  It is time for companies to embrace remote work and the benefits of remote work and invest on training leaders to lead remotely.

Work Cited

Laker, B. (2022, February 21). From the great resignation to the Great Return: Bringing Back the workforce. Forbes. Retrieved April 19, 2022, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/benjaminlaker/2022/02/17/from-the-great-resignation-to-the-great-return-bringing-back-the-workforce/?sh=11bdc91025e5

Licina, S. (2022, January 28). Council post: Why leaders need to reevaluate how they manage their workforce today. Forbes. Retrieved April 19, 2022, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinesscouncil/2022/01/27/why-leaders-need-to-reevaluate-how-they-manage-their-workforce-today/?sh=71191ef6118e

Lodewick, C. (2022, April 5). Good riddance to work from home, former Google CEO says. Fortune. Retrieved April 19, 2022, from https://fortune.com/2022/04/05/google-work-from-home-hybrid-return-to-office-eric-schmidt/

Remote Workers Being Laid Off For Not Typing Enough?

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By: Stephanie Diana Eubank

Since the pandemic employers and leaders have had to make the adjustment to having their teams operating remotely.  After over two years of suffering through the pandemic this adjustment is starting to feel par for the course now.  However, since the pandemic and more so recently I have heard several colleagues and friends have told me about being laid off or fired and the reason employers have given them was they had a low keystroke on their work computer?  Which sounded a little weird to me given that many of my colleagues and I have a lot of data both qualitative and quantitative data to review including legal docs day in and day out.  Which means that the typing quantity would of course be lower.  In working remote for over ten years now ( and no that’s not an exaggeration I am proud that I have gotten to work remote for so long prior to and preferably post COVID).

This got stranger because another one of my colleagues who was laid off for this key stroke analysis reason stated that a lot of the communications for work were being done via online systems like email, teams, skype for business and similar. However, this colleague noted that often this person would use these programs from via phone.  Others also noted that with coffee shops, and outdoor seating becoming more inviting as the weather got better, they would log in from their laptops in other locations to help themselves get out and about.  This method of being able to be mobile in remote work for those who are not accustomed to remote work this is helpful for promoting mental health and work and life balance. 

An example I can give personally I have had several trainings that I have led via Zoom from the comfort of my backyard as an effort to get outside a bit as a stress reliever.  Another personal example is walking around the house to make a snack and a cup of tea while using the text to speak function on my phone to answer emails or using my wireless headset to answer questions for team members via teams. The only comments in ten years for doing this has been, “I love how quickly you were able to help me with this”, and “Wow the weather is nice there”. 

So, colleagues contacting me saying that while they had been doing the same thing are getting backlash through their performance analytics based on keystrokes was strange and prompted me to do some additional research.  In my research on this led me down a rabbit hole of how companies are inappropriately using data analytics in remote work settings. There are a few practical research articles from business professionals in leadership talking about how to use data analytics to measure productivity and performance.   

In those articles there are several remote employee surveillance systems like EfficientLab, and even using team communications apps like Slack and Teams.  There is a really great scholarly article found online at https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0167268120301542 and referenced below a number of different data analytics to monitor or spy on employees who are working remotely. 

Based on how these productivity analysis methods are being used there is some additional steps when anglicizing productivity that leaders need to do in a remote work environment.  For starters leaders need to learn what each employee does.  That seems condescending but, it is true.  Leadership needs to practice a concept in six sigma called cross training.  Within a cross training requires all employees including leadership to learn what each employee does and works to learn each other’s duties.  This also allows employers to invest in training all employees as we all navigate the Great Resignation. 

Once a leader knows what each employee does the monitoring used needs to include a qualitative and a quantitative methodology.  Using a more informed understanding of what employees do and a proper method of evaluating productivity.  It will also help strengthen labor pools instead of diminishing them. 

References

West, D. M. (2022, March 9). How employers use technology to Surveil employees. Brookings. Retrieved April 5, 2022, from https://www.brookings.edu/blog/techtank/2021/01/05/how-employers-use-technology-to-surveil-employees/

Galanti, T., Guidetti, G., Mazzei, E., Zappalà, S., & Toscano, F. (2021). Work from home during the COVID-19 Outbreak. Journal of Occupational & Environmental Medicine, 63(7). https://doi.org/10.1097/jom.0000000000002236

Miele, F., & Tirabeni, L. (2020). Digital Technologies and Power Dynamics in the organization: A conceptual review of remote working and wearable technologies at work. Sociology Compass, 14(6). https://doi.org/10.1111/soc4.12795

Jensen, N., Lyons, E., Chebelyon, E., Bras, R. L., & Gomes, C. (2020). Conspicuous monitoring and remote work. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 176, 489–511. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2020.05.010

REMOTE CONCEPTS BRINGING JOY TO THE WORLD AND DIVERSITY?

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By: Stephanie Diana Eubank

Happy Winter Solstices and Seasons’ Greetings!  While I work towards finishing my Doctorate in Business Administration the topic of diversity in the workplace is a popular topic when discussing leadership and organizational design.  Here in my blog, I constantly sing the praises of a remote work lifestyle and how remote work helps me and my research.  However, there are other ways considering COVID and the new variants that remote is bettering both the workplace and the world.  To narrow this paper into a blog post rather than a novel the focus on how remote work is helping business and the world will focus on how remote work is helping increase diversity. 

Yes, diversity in the workplace can become a sore topic.  However, remote work helps bring more people to the table that would otherwise not would not have an ability to even show up to the table. There is a wonderful Forbes article, https://www.forbes.com/sites/sap/2021/05/12/how-hybrid-remote-work-improves-diversity-and-inclusion/?sh=55c7be44321f which lists the groups who are increasing the diversity in remote workplaces.  The article specifically cites:

  • Women,
  • Caregivers (who statistically are women),
  • Those with physical or mental health disabilities (otherwise referred to as the differently abled community),
  • Those who are economically challenged and those who have suffered housing location issues. 

To quote one of my previous articles, “There are several studies in business administration and other business science aspects on how diversity adds to team/ organizational creativity and advanced problem solving also preventing group think.  However, the Forbes article, https://www.forbes.com/sites/tendayiviki/2016/12/06/why-diverse-teams-are-more-creative/?sh=55bfe61d7262 sums it up well for easy reading”.

Women like me pre and post COVID have benefited from working remotely to balance our family’s and our careers.  However, per the PEWs research from 2020, https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/10/01/women-more-than-men-adjust-their-careers-for-family-life/ most Americans do not approve of a woman working full time while raising a family.  Although often women need to work as they are the only breadwinner while caregiving. 

The fact remote is offering opportunities for those who have it implemented in the workplace and it is increasing diversity is wonderful. However, I am also seeing how remote is changing things outside of the workplace for the better.  Specifically the example I would like to write about is the Firehouse Run here in Santa Clara, https://www.thefirehouserun.com/.  The proceeds of the race go to Santa Clara Unified School District.  Because of COVID the race is virtual this year.  Which allows for anyone to join and participate between 12/5/21 and 12/12/21.  For those like me riddled with long term injuries from running Cross Country and Track throughout my life running is physically hard for me to do anymore so it becomes a walk.  Also, my boys are too big now to push in the running stroller like we used to in this race. So, this year I can do the race from home, in my elliptical which tracks distance.  There are others who also would not traditionally be able to participate who will be able to participate and help raise more money for the school district.  This method also allows out of state or even out of country participation to help build wellness while helping the schools.

As a plug to help the school district if you would like to donate please go to https://raceroster.com/events/2021/50971/2021-the-firehouse-run/fundraising-organization/32654#event-description and donate.

MICRO-MANAGEMENT IS AUTHENTIC BULLYING

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By: Stephanie Diana Wilson- Eubank

Micromanagement is a method of leadership which based on my research of remote work and my own work experience is a hostile and lazy form of leadership.  It is lazy because rather than leading with the understanding your greatest resources a company has is its employees.  Hostile because micromanagement has been shown to not only create room for management bullying but to cause harm to employees emotionally. Remote work becoming more normative since COVID has allowed for more transparency of how authentic leadership as a term being corrupted by controlling leaders who are insecure, and incompetent to shine through. Leading remote teams is more emotional work on the part of leadership but, it is good and necessary work.  Before I detailed the facts of how micromanagement is beyond harmful to employees onsite and remote there are some concepts of remote workers as a focus need to be detailed first.

Such as there is a great article pre COVID found on, https://journals.aom.org/doi/abs/10.5465/ame.2000.4468068 on how to manage remote workplaces.  In said article the author Cascio details how remote workers suffer from three types of isolation.

  • Social,
  • Professional, and
  • Geographical.

Due to these types of isolations managers of remote workers and teams need to work on calling or reaching out to subordinates.  Not just for status on projects or assignments.  Rather to reach out to employees and just say, “hi”. There is an interesting TED Talk, (Durrwachter, 2020); regarding the power of saying, “How are you doing?” and “ hello my friend”.  As leaders we need to bother to talk to our employees!  To ask, how are you?  We all have been traumatized globally by the pandemic.  Many of us are still living in the trauma.   The surprising thing is candid, open, and reasonable conversations spark and genuine leadership and communication arises.  Which is the true intention of authentic leadership.  Not the excuse to be a tyrant and a bully that the term has come to be synonymous with. 

However, there are articles like, (Milne, 2021); detailing how there is now spy ware for managers to investigate employee’s cameras and see them and monitor them.  Showing linkage with these programs with communication software like Slack where the user can watch a team and chastise them if they are not at their computer at the exact moment management is checking on them.   There is ample evidence on how micromanagement hurts the work force and can hurt a company’s work force.  Such as the article from Forbes, (Kurter, 2021); and the article from Psychology Today, (Golden, 2020); on how micromanagement hurts businesses.

Micromanagement is not only detrimental to a company and its employees but, it is a testament to lazy management.  How is it lazy management?  For one as noted in remote workplaces there is additional work that must be put into cultivating a team.  Micromanagement is a leaders’ scream that they as leaders did not hire people that they trust to get the job done.  When employees don’t feel like management trusts them it is unnerving.  Micromanagement just shows a leader who isn’t willing to adapt and get to know their team and how best to support them.  At the end of the day remote or onsite employees are a company’s best resource and need to be treated as such. 

If this article helped shed some light on how micromanagement is not in the best interest of a workforce especially not remote please share.

Work Cited

Cascio, W. F. (2000). Managing a virtual workplace. Academy of Management Perspectives, 14(3), 81–90. https://doi.org/10.5465/ame.2000.4468068

https://journals.aom.org/doi/abs/10.5465/ame.2000.4468068

Durrwachter, D. (2020, October 1). Authentic leadership. TED. https://www.ted.com/talks/dianna_durrwachter_authentic_leadership.

Milne, S. (2021, September 5). Bosses turn to ‘Tattleware’ to keep tabs on employees working from home. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/sep/05/covid-coronavirus-work-home-office-surveillance.

Kurter, H. L. (2021, July 1). Is micromanaging a form of bullying? here are 3 things you should know. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/heidilynnekurter/2021/06/29/is-micromanaging-a-form-of-bullying-here-are-3-things-you-should-know/?sh=45a23efa4467.

Golden, G. (2020, October 30). 8 micromanaging boss traits that endanger your business. Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/curating-your-life/202010/8-micromanaging-boss-traits-endanger-your-business.

Why Isn’t Remote Work Being Pushed as An Infrastructure Recovery Initiatives Post COVID-19?

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By: Stephanie Diana Eubank

Not to get too political, but there is so much political discussion right now on how to recover nationally from the economic devastation of Covid-19.  This debate is being held politically by those who are not businesspeople or people who have advanced academic experience in economics and business.  As shown in the article from Forbes, https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaeltnietzel/2021/01/08/the-college-profile-of-the-new-members-in-the-117th-congress/?sh=12f8eb233b10 of the newly elected many have advanced degrees not all are in business, and a majority of the degrees are in law, a few MBA’s, Theology and, geology.  There are also several representatives with certificates or never finished an undergrad or associate degree. 

So, as a businessperson, who has the advanced academic degrees and is working on my dissertation for my Doctorate in Business Administration I would like to weigh in on how my focus topic of remote work could be a helpful method to help our country recover economically from Covid-19.  Since remote work has so many benefits to the economy and the workforce in general this article will just focus on women and caregiving.  I will make a whole series of articles on each benefit to a governmental push for more remote work as infrastructure. 

If more benefits were given to businesses to push for employees to work remotely long term for the foreseeable future this would help business, the economy, diversity, women, issues of child and family care, and additional financial assistance to the work force as a whole.   All the way around remote work helps workers balance their lives and career goals.  One thing I am looking forward to as a remote worker is as my state opens up getting to take breaks and taking a walk to have a cup of coffee and brunch at my favorite mom and pop shops with my friends when they take their breaks.  Which still allows me time to come home finish the bulk of my work and welcome my kids back home from school.  Once I put my boys to bed, I can work on my homework and get to bed and start the day again. 

I have had this ability to balance my work, school and, family luckily for the past seven years.  Oh, and trust me I understand that I have been fortunate to have the ability to work remote and continue to work remote.  Honestly, I don’t know how I would have been able to provide and care for my boys regardless of their disabilities if I was not lucky enough to have the opportunity to work remotely.  

However, I do understand based on experience over the past seven years and now as the country is opening back up (even though there is concern of another wave of COVID and its variants) management pushes back against remote work.  (This is mostly because remote work causes managers to have to develop empathy and lead authentically not using the term as an excuse to emotionally abuse employees by being a jerk.  See my previous article on that topic.) Yet, if government makes a push to help both large and small companies push for remote work where it can be done it may be the push needed to really recover.  

The statistics are compelling on how remote can help our economy.  Especially for women.  First off in the US the concept of a full-time mom is not normative anymore due to economical constraints.  Speaking from example of being both the child growing up in a dule income home and being the mother of a dual income home, it is few and far between that families can afford to be a one income household. Even though my life, family, and my husband’s work are here in Silicon Valley California.  Which also happens to be one of the most expensive places in the country to live.  It also doesn’t help that traffic is so bad here as well but, that’s a different article to write.  There is little ability to have a single income family to have the bandwidth to be a full-time mom not just here but nationally.  The Population Reference Bureau as seen in the article, https://www.prb.org/resources/traditional-families-account-for-only-7-percent-of-u-s-households/ found in 2003 only 7% of American’s we able to live in a one income household with children. Where dual income with children at the time was 16% of the US and dual income without children was at 13%.  The other 64% were single parents and single people.  And according to The Hill article https://thehill.com/opinion/finance/543941-americas-single-parent-families 30% of American Families are single parents usually moms with a child under 18.  Of that 30% of single parent families 75% are single moms.  The article goes on to break down the socio-economical statistics of single moms but, it points out the face 51% of the single parents in the US are fellow minorities.  Specifically, Hispanic, and African American families are the most effected.  Single moms tend to also make less and have less work opportunities regardless of education, experience, and skills (again a soap box for a different day).  What is heart breaking single moms are 34% more likely to be impoverished.  

The article also mentions that 57% of American’s scapegoat single parents, single moms especially and comment on them working too much and not being enough for their kids or not working hard enough.  (again another soap box as I have been a single mom, a working mom, and a student mom all at the same time and remote helped me do it all and teach my boys hard work ethic and how it pays off.  In an area that to be middle class for a family of three the income required is $150k for a single income so we were poor for our area.  I also like to think it taught my boys that I love them so much that I work tirelessly to make sure they have every advantage I can possibly provide.)

Women are also statistically the main demographic as a caregiver for family members who are disabled or elderly.  Which largely is unpaid!  According to the statistics on the Family Caregiver Alliance https://www.caregiver.org/resource/caregiver-statistics-demographics/ their data was collected by AARP and found 34.2 Million Americans provide unpaid care as of 2015,  16.6% are adults caring for disabled children and 34.2 Million of these caregivers are caring for someone 50+ years of age again unpaid.  I have had several friends who while caring for family members who were ill or disabled would not have been able to care for them on their own if they didn’t work from home.  Of those friends fortunately they worked from home, so their family members did not die alone.  These friends were both men and women with varying ethnicities and socio-economical backgrounds.  Though per the same article AARP found that 75% of unpaid caregivers are women.

There is also the remote team pitfall of many companies pre- Covid-19 would create what are called “dream teams” which are teams made up of experts in their field.  This is done without regard for team design of personalities or on how well each person works together in a cohesive team.  

This design flaw can be used to the advantage of women in the economy.  Per the PEWs research https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/06/20/u-s-women-near-milestone-in-the-college-educated-labor-force/ women make up a little over 50% of the college educated work force and 46% of the over all workforce is women with higher education.  Also, the PEWs research showed that of all the undergraduate degrees earned in the US 57% were awarded to women.  This means the push for advantages of remote work would bring highly educated women opportunities to balance the caregiving role that societally tends to be thrust onto women more than men.

The benefits of the government viewing remote work as an infrastructure cause will help the economy and work force from the bottom up.   With the focus just on the women of the US work force an increase of remote work would allow for more women to keep themselves and their children out of poverty just from the view point of caregiving and childcare restrictions physically and financially on women and families. It would also create more opportunities for educated women to shine in the workplace.  

Remote work as infrastructure cannot be understated.  Yes, working and caring for others is HARD work!  However, one thing Covid-19 taught America is we are not afraid of a little hard work and when given the opportunity to work remote life and work continued.