How the back-to-office transition can harm diversity, inclusion, and worker performance

Hybrid working promises the best of in-person collaboration and remote efficiency, but businesses that get the back-to-office transition wrong could sideline their most effective staff, says Diversity Council of Australia CEO Lisa Annese.

Troubling figures from the DCA’s latest Inclusion@Work Index show 30% of workers experienced discrimination, harassment, or both in the workplace through 2023.

That is 8% higher than the figure in 2021 when many workplaces clung to remote-first working policies due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Worker reports of discrimination and harassment were even higher in 2023 than in pre-pandemic 2019 when 26% of workers alleged poor treatment in a DCA survey.

At the same time, workers are reporting a downturn in workplace inclusion.

More employees are working side-by-side in the office today compared to 2020 and 2021.

But the Inclusion@Work Index shows more than one in four workers reported their managers did not value employee differences, treat workers fairly, or adequately handle inappropriate behaviour in 2023 — a 9% increase from 18% in 2021, and a 6% bump compared to 2019.

Speaking to SmartCompany on Monday, Annese said the move away from remote-first working has been detrimental to many workers in terms of workplace diversity and inclusion.

Employees with caregiving responsibilities appear to stand out in the data.

Many people in this group were “very, very stressed” about their caring responsibilities, and were able to “get a bit more balance in their lives” when working from home through pandemic lockdowns.

“What we can assume has happened here is that organisations haven’t done a very good job of transitioning back after the pandemic,” she said.

“People are absolutely everything”

Tellingly, the data looks better for organisations that champion diversity and inclusion.

It also suggests that accommodating workers’ care responsibilities and remote work needs could have a positive effect on their performance.

Workers at organisations with an active focus on diversity and inclusion were far more likely to report their work had a positive impact on their mental health compared to workers where diversity and inclusion were not championed (43% vs 25%).

Workers at ‘D&I active’ organisations were twice as likely to report working effectively together (51% vs 24%) and working ‘extra’ hard (57% vs 23%).

These findings have outsized implications for managers — including those leading small teams, where the loss of an individual team member may have profound consequences.

Failing to manage people with a focus on diversity and inclusion, including the caring responsibilities of workers, can push those employees away, Annese said.

“People who are high-performing individuals have options in the labour market,” she said.

“And so why would they stay in an organisation where they are not being treated with respect, where they don’t feel connected to their fellow workers, where they don’t have opportunities for promotions and talent development?

“That’s what you’re missing out on… They underperform because they’re not motivated.”

Operating without the right people skills and accommodations is “such a lost opportunity for managers,” she continued.

“And as we’re moving more and more into a knowledge economy, it’s a really critical part: People are absolutely everything, and if you have a great team of high-performing people who are engaged and enjoy their work, then you stand to really benefit from a more productive, innovative, and creative workplace.”

Ensuring a workplace has the technical know-how to flourish in the future of work is only half the battle.

“The actual art of being a people leader is something that organisations need to invest in,” Annese said.

Workplaces can elect to participate in the next edition of the Inclusion@Work Index here.