'Black men were significantly less likely to be WFH than White men'
Certain demographics are being left behind when it comes to working from home, according to new research out of the U.K., which warned of potential impact on office-return mandates.
The research, which was published in the Industrial Relations Journal, revealed that there are gaps in certain areas of the labour market where WFH patterns have not caught up with the rest of the population.
"In particular, Black men were significantly less likely to be WFH than White men, even after controlling for other factors such as sector and occupational level," the report read.
It also found that:
Black women were just as likely as White women to be WFH
Chinese and "Other Asian" workers were significantly less likely to be WFH for both men and women
Black fathers were less likely to be WFH than White fathers
Chinese and "other Asian," as well as Pakistani/Bangladeshi childless men, engaged in WFH at lower rates than their White counterparts
Migrants belonging to ethnic minorities – and particularly those from Chinese and Black backgrounds – were less likely to be WFH than White workers, both UK-born and migrant.
"The racial disparities in working from home that we found are more than a policy matter – they reflect deeper structural biases in the workplace," said Shiyu Yuan, PhD candidate in Social Policy at the University of Kent and Research Fellow at the Global Institute for Women's Leadership at King's College London, in a statement.
According to the research, the "intersection of ethnicity, gender, migration, and parental status all mattered" when it comes to the accessibility of working from home. It noted several reasons why there are racial disparities when it comes to access to WFH.
The first cited reason is biases against Black and minority ethnic (BME) workers from managers, who may not trust the workers' ability to use WFH in a productive way.
Another reason is personal choices by BME workers, but this reason may go beyond that, according to the report.
"However, it is more likely to be due to the potential negative consequences of flexible working and the fear of flexibility stigma leading to negative career outcomes," it read.
"Given the weaker bargaining power of ethnic minority workers, particularly migrant workers, it is not surprising that some workers may feel unable to engage in WFH, even if it is required by company policy, for fear that it will have a further negative impact on their career progression."
Yuan said this shows that simply offering WFH options isn't enough: "Employers and policymakers have to tackle these biases and do more to ensure equitable access to homeworking for everyone."
The racial disparities in working from home could have a negative impact on ongoing office return, according to the researchers.
They hypothesise that the gap between BME and White workers may have lessened during the pandemic lockdown period because there was "no other option" but to allow those who can work from home to do so.
"However, as the pandemic eased in 2022–2023, we could potentially expect the ethnicity gaps to re-emerge as some workers have now moved permanently into a new hybrid/homeworking pattern, while others were asked to largely come back into the office," it read.
"We expect that in this period of returning to the office, the ethnicity gaps are more likely to be observed."
The findings come in the wake of growing office-return policies in workplaces around the world, leading to full office returns or hybrid work arrangements.
In the UK, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) found that 41% of employers in the UK have formalised policies for hybrid working. Another 19% also have informal practices between employees and managers.
Larger employers in the private sector are more likely to want their staff back in the office - a case that is also reflected around the world, with Amazon, Woolworths, Dell, among others, introducing office-return policies.
"In light of the return-to-office mandates we are seeing more recently, our results indicate that we might end up with a greater disparity between workers with different levels of bargaining power," said Professor Heejung Chung, Professor of Work and Employment at King's Business School and Director of the Global Institute for Women's Leadership at King's College London, in a statement.
"This may result in greater inequalities in the labour market between workers of different ethnicities and migration backgrounds."
This isn't the first time that a racial divide has been called out in the UK's WFH arrangements.
Previous findings also released by academics at the University of Kent in collaboration with the Trades Union Congress (TUC) found that BME workers are more likely to be monitored at work.
"Some employers still have negative views of working from home – which can lead to problems like excessive monitoring and micromanagement. Our research shows that this may be worse for BME workers," said Alice Arkwright (Policy Officer at TUC) in a statement.
"Every employer should have a home working policy that sets out clear expectations and boundaries, including about how to prevent overwork and long working hours. And all working people should have access to flexible working options, not just those who can work from home."
