Today’s post is called “Why I cringe every time I hear a demand for Return to the Office (RTO).” Citations in the first comment.
People with disabilities thrived in jobs in 2023, in large part because more of them could accept jobs that allowed them to work from home (WFH).
WFH creates the following benefits for disabled employees:
1) You don’t spend money or time on commuting. Almost 1/3 of people with disabilities don’t drive*. Commuting takes a lot of time and energy. People with disabilities are also more likely to be in poverty** so financial savings are more impactful for them, also.
2) People don’t see you taking breaks or going to the bathroom more frequently.
3) You have access to all the healthy food you want any time you want. Or, you can take that second Krispy Kreme without worrying that anyone is watching.
4) You can squeeze in chores around work, balancing physical load throughout the day and taking necessary breaks from the computer.
5) You aren’t getting sick because someone insisted on working even though they were ill.
6) Better ability to concentrate due to lower levels of noise and bad lighting.
7) Everything the employee needs is set up exactly the way they want it.
WFH allows for control something that people with disabilities are sometimes sorely lacking in.Here are the benefits for the business:
1) A Stanford study of 16,000 workers over 9 months found that working from home increased productivity by 13%.***
2) Less stressed employees
3) Lower number of sick days taken
Here are some issues with RTO mandates:
1) When executives demand everyone “return to office,” effectively, they are singling out the employees who are still working from home as likely having received an accommodation due to a disability. Since 75 % (or more) of employees aren’t identifying their disabilities at work,**** that is a significant problem.
2) Forcing an employee to go through the accommodations process to receive permission to keep their WFH schedule can be expensive and slow
3) Remote workers are less likely to get promotions or bonuses.
I predict that in the next 18-24 months there will be a slew of EEOC litigation over denied WFH opportunities as an accommodation, and people who have been granted WFH but getting chronically passed over for promotions and bonuses. Every time I hear about the next company that is issuing an absolute return to work demand, all I hear is “Employees with disabilities, we pretend we care about you, but we really don’t.” Then, I add another company to the list of companies I won’t apply for jobs at.
alt: Computer guy face palm meme. When the execs say come back to the office or get fired and you have a disability.