We can confidently say that companies have managed to switch and organize themselves to practice remote work culture. After the initial shock caused by the pandemic, remote work brought results such as increased productivity for companies and a chance to have a better work-life balance for employees. A recent study conducted by PwC found that 83% of employers felt that shift was a success.
Besides productivity, this situation brought additional discoveries that tackle the most urgent issues in the tech industry.
Remote work embraces inclusivity
As we mentioned earlier, remote work brought remote hiring into play. Talent pools become wider and deeper, and suddenly unnoticeable candidates have a chance to become competitive. Without geographic restrictions, companies can cast a wider net while hiring and find candidates with diverse backgrounds.
In many cases, when the local talent pool isn’t particularly diverse, it still makes recruiters very hard to attract and source underrepresented communities once all the above mentioned is in place.
Communities play a vital role in human connection and belonging. For underrepresented people, communities are strongholds keeping their cultural identity intact through language, culture, and rituals.
A study by The Manifest revealed that 70% of job seekers value a company’s commitment to diversity when evaluating potential employers. Company leadership and HR departments that have paid their attention to craft diverse communities can hail software developers worldwide with much success nowadays!
Remote work: A pathway to diversity
Recent study findings revealed that software developers are used to having a work-life balance on their terms. Discussion around this topic still revolves around work as the main priority, while the life part gets its attention now and then.
Working from home helps close the infamous gender gap in traditionally male-dominated tech industries. The flexible nature of remote work allows employees not to restrict themselves to typical “9 to 5 office hours” but to work when they want to work. It enables them to fit their work around their life, rather than the other way around.
Working remotely means that parts of your team don’t have to commute every day to work, leaving it upon them to organize their tasks and commit themselves to their families and other life interests. On the other hand, this opens the door for promising disabled or chronically ill candidates to reenter the workforce.
For employees that are in the minority, fitting into office culture can often mean compromising parts of themselves that are essential to their self-identity — making the failure to assimilate lead towards various conscious and unconscious visual biases. A recent article in The Wall Street Journal revealed that nonbinary trans employees note that working from home made it less stressful to talk to coworkers while undergoing testosterone therapy. At the same time, they could communicate through coworking apps instead.
Remote work can help ease some of these issues, as the home is a place of psychological safety where employees don’t need to stress about which bathroom they should use.
Open your job offers to remote
Companies have proven that remote work is working, opening wide talent pools looking forward to diversity and inclusion. To further embrace these benefits, open your job search parameters as you seek qualified, diverse candidates and include remote workers into your hiring plans. In your job descriptions, make it clear that you are open to hiring remote workers, in addition to using languages that promote diversity and inclusion. Our latest company journey update allows you to precisely communicate open job positions for remote workers, making tech recruiting a bit easier.
Despite endless video meetings, remote work cuts down distraction, stress, making a much appreciated work-life balance available for software developers. Remote work won’t solve organizations’ cultural problems, but having the option to work remotely makes working inside the tech industry more accessible to more people.
