A Move to Remote Work Could Inadvertently Hinder Your ESG Goals

A lot has been written and said about when and how often workers will come back to offices.

Employee satisfaction and shorter commute times are often cited as reasons for companies to adopt more flexible policies. Still, these remote working policies could leave some workers left out, according to one observer. In the process, companies could hinder their ESG goals.

On CBRE’s “The Weekly Take” podcast, Brad Bell, William J. Conaty professor and director of the Center for Advanced Human Resource Studies at Cornell University, says that research shows that employees who work remotely experience some potential drawbacks, including not getting promoted as quickly. He attributed this to them “not being top of mind.” Because of that, “they’re maybe not getting the same types of experiences, assignments as their coworkers that are in the office and are right there in front of their manager.”

In a way, hybrid work could exacerbate deeper divisions among employees. “I think if we layer on top of that, we might see certain segments of employees choosing to work more often remotely,” Bell says. “Maybe it’s caretakers, maybe it’s lower-income employees that want to save that long commute in the city or live more distantly where it’s cheaper to live.”

If those fissures between groups of workers widen, it could hurt the diversity initiatives that companies have invested so much in.

“I think if we really start laying on top some of these demographics, other personal characteristics on top of people’s work choices, I think we really do run the risk of exacerbating or backtracking on some of these DE&I efforts that companies have been so focused on in recent years,” Bell says.

ESG concerns could also come into play when it comes to compensation for industrial workers. Whether it’s a business distribution center, cold storage facility, or data centers, it needs workers. Even highly mechanized industrial facilities need workers.

Mary Beth McCormick, executive director, Center for Real Estate at Ohio State University and another participant in the podcast, thinks the issue of filling slots in those facilities isn’t really about a labor shortage. She says there is a shortage of proper compensation.

“I think if you pay people properly, then they will come,” McCormick says.

To make her point, McCormick cites what is happening with restaurants right now. When they started offering $15 an hour instead of $2.13 plus tips, they suddenly had plenty of applicants. “So there is some inequity that needs to shake out,” McCormick says. “But I think it’s happening.”