Careers
Winter is coming ... As further pandemic restrictions loom, Helen Broadbridge considers how a crisis can be a catalyst for change
Helen Broadbridge
L
ockdown has made working life harder for millions of people. However, unprecedented times can also bring about unprecedented change as the disruption itself sets a precedent for trying something new. This article will look at three positive changes we could all embrace by the end of 2020. 1. Ask for what you need Lockdown is opening up conversations that may have felt less socially acceptable before. For some, asking for flexibility outside the status quo can feel like a risk of being perceived as less committed. But now that it has been proven beyond doubt that entire organisations can work remotely, workers should be able to broach the subject of flexible hours or avoiding the commute without having to stretch their manager’s imagination. (Note, that I call it “remote working” rather than “working from home” because in my view the latter conjures up images of pyjamas and baking cookies in a way that unfairly detracts from the “work” part.) At last, some key hurdles have been lifted: organisations have invested in remote access, supervisors are learning to adapt to supervising without being in the same room and the less tech-savvy have had the chance to figure out the new systems. The unthinkable is now not only thinkable but mundane.1 It is not only the workplace that people may benefit from thinking about. At home, the crisis is suddenly making visible the invisible work that many have been doing for years. Research has shown that women tend to do more domestic labour than men.2,3 Now, if not for the first time then for the first prolonged period, many are getting a front row seat to the challenges of integrating work, housekeeping and childcare. This should encourage reflection, especially as research suggests that what it means to be a “family” in times of crisis is often reduced to emphasise a male breadwinner and a female carer, which is a family make-up that is no longer relevant to many. Moreover, studies of the 2008 financial crisis and its aftermath have shown that even when the male partner is unemployed for a prolonged period, and the female partner continues to work full-time, families do not readily change the division of paid and unpaid work. Correspondingly, if women are unemployed, they feel an almost moral obligation to contribute more unpaid work, alongside looking for paid work. I hope that today many families
have resisted this trend during the lockdown and have found that a re-division of tasks or turn-taking is worth carrying forward into the future.4 Lastly, an additional benefit of couples enacting equal partnership in the home is that it helps to adjust gender norms in the workplace. If men start asking for flexibility at work, this normalises the uptake of flexible working policies for the entire workforce.5 If such policies are only used by women, research has shown that the use of such policies can carry a career penalty.6,7,8 In addition, equal domestic partnership in families with children sets an example for the next generation, positively shaping the expectations of the future workforce.9,10 2. Hold yourself to less exhausting standards Additional demands during lockdown have been challenging for many. In extreme cases, some workers may have been pushed to the point of exhaustion.11 According to one recent survey, 14% of women and 11% of men have considered quitting their jobs during lockdown.12 This seemingly endless pressure should encourage workers to stop and reflect. Management academics have established the concept of the “ideal worker fallacy”.13 The theory is that the “ideal worker” of yesteryear – someone who enters the workforce in early adulthood and works full-time, with a full-time homemaker to support them – no longer exists in the majority of cases. Nevertheless, the mentality of the ideal worker can be seductive, so workers may wish to ask themselves whether they are holding themselves to sustainable standards to minimise the risk of burnout.14 If workers find that their standards have slipped from ‘high’ to ‘ideal’, it may be time to re-prioritise. It can help to decide, strategically and at times ruthlessly, which activities we can do less of – not because they are not important per se, but because they are not the closest-aligned to our best and highest goals. Are you volunteering for tasks that do not lead to promotions? Could you get more done by delegating more to support staff? Continued on next page LegalWomen | 23
