myAIPMAs employers work to refit existing workplace models, they face a classic risk/reward choice. Hybrid work has the potential to offer a higher level of flexibility, a better work–life balance, and a more tailored employee experience. These can have a disproportionately positive impact on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts, as well as on performance. Hybrid work also has the potential to create an unequal playing field and to amplify in-group versus out-group dynamics, which can flip those advantages to the liabilities side of the ledger. For workplaces already challenged to diversify and retain employees, adopting ill-conceived hybrid work models could instead speed departures, decrease inclusion, and harm performance.
Make no mistake: tapping the benefits of a more inclusive hybrid work culture is difficult, delicate work. There’s scant evidence of companies that have mastered the challenge. What’s more, the practices needed to take it on can feel nebulous and elusive, especially for leaders who have never worked in a truly inclusive culture themselves. In this article, we share research that illuminates the dynamics that underlie efforts to build inclusion in a diverse, hybrid workforce and the three critical inclusion practices—work–life support, team building, and mutual respect—that leaders should treat as priorities.
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