6 Ways the Pandemic Changed Today's Workplace

It has been two years since the World Health Organization formally declared that the coronavirus outbreak had reached pandemic proportions. Now, in March 2022, Star Carter, COO, Co-Founder and General Counsel at Kanarys, recounts how the pandemic changed workplaces across the country and how companies responded to the global pandemic.

1.) Increased focus on DEI. Prior to the pandemic and the tragic murder of George Floyd, many company leaders saw diversity, equity, and inclusion as a nice-to-have instead of a need. The global attention surrounding Mr. Floyd’s horrific death and resurgence of the racial justice and equity movement in 2020 forced CEOs and company leaders to take a hard look at DEI in the workplace. As a result, companies (like Kanarys) that have already been doing this work started to field more queries from businesses looking to ramp up their DEI goals. In fact, more than 8 in 10 (83%) organizations said they took action on DEI initiatives in 2021, according to a recent WorldatWork study.

We also saw a rise in Chief Diversity Officers; this was the fastest-growing C-Suite title of 2020 – growing 84%. Additionally, we experienced a shift from our client partners at Kanarys. More wanted the DEI data that we collected and analyzed to be presented to their senior leadership and CEOs. C-Suite executives are now prioritizing DEI because it has become part of their Environmental, Social, and Corporate (ESG) strategy and is overseen by their board. Boards have begun to play a critical role in providing education, oversight, monitoring, and support for the organization’s DEI strategy. 

Lastly, in 2021, states like California, New Jersey, and Illinois passed or considered legislation that required public companies to report on or commit to improving diverse leadership, and organizations like NASDAQ started to require companies to report their board diversity.

2.) Hybrid work and the “Zoom Ceiling.” Research from PWC found that a third of executives (33%) will have a mixed model, with some in-person full-time, some hybrid, and some fully remote. Hybrid models can be beneficial because of their ability to offer dual benefits of flexibility and collaboration. However, they can create subtle inequities among employees who are in the office and those that aren’t. One of these barriers has been referred to as the “Zoom Ceiling,” which is related to proximity bias. It is the idea that employees with close physical proximity to their team and company leaders will be perceived as better workers and ultimately find more success in the workplace than their remote counterparts. Companies need to be more intentional about tracking promotions, pay scales, and opportunities between employees that are remote and those in the office. Otherwise, the unfortunate outcome will be disparities among these two groups and remote employees being penalized for not being in the office.

3.) Pay transparency. Pay transparency is one of the biggest workplace trends defining 2022. So much so that many states and municipalities established laws requiring companies to disclose pay ranges for job postings. Since the start of the pandemic, momentum has been growing around gender and racial inequities, which has led to workers’ demand to close the wage gap. With many companies desperately seeking ways to retain workers, pay transparency is an easy way to demonstrate they care about equity and inclusion. 

4.) ‘Shecession’ and parental leave. Last year, we experienced the ‘Shecession,’ where the pandemic forced women out of the workforce; nearly three million women dropped out since January 2021. The pandemic has brought to light the challenges working parents and caregivers face, and the ongoing conversation around parental and paid family leave was further highlighted last year with Pete Buttigieg facing scrutiny for taking paternity leave and President Biden cutting paid family leave from his social spending plan. More recently, Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal announced plans for his paternity leave for the birth of his second child, signaling a positive shift in paternity leave. This year, companies are sounding off the ‘Sherecovery,’ with support for women and families taking center stage. To attract and retain women and caregivers, we’re seeing companies like Pinterest expand their parental leave policies to include benefits like paid leave for pregnancy loss and adoptive parents. Additionally, companies that are implementing permanent work-from-home policies, like Facebook and Twitter, are helping create more flexible work schedules that can better accommodate the needs of a working parent. 

5.) The Great Resignation and the 4-day workweek. As the pandemic slowed, we saw people reevaluating their priorities and leaving their jobs in search of more money, happiness, and flexibility. 4 million people quit their jobs in April 2021 alone, and this continues to rage on with a record 4.5 million workers leaving their jobs in November 2021. Named the “Great Resignation,” the mass exodus has left employers faced with acute labor shortages as workers in a labor tight market have more leverage to move around. In response, employers are pressured to make changes like offering increased wages, hiring incentives, and competitive benefits to attract talent. With employers looking to retain talent, they’re also reexamining their workplaces and making real changes to support their employees. For example, some company leaders are rethinking the traditional workplace model with companies like Bolt and Panasonic switching to a 4-day workweek to help boost productivity and improve work-life balance. 

6.) Mental health and burnout. Nine out of ten employers surveyed by McKinsey reported that the COVID-19 pandemic has negatively affected the behavioral health of their workforce. Although mental challenges were undoubtedly present in the workplace before the pandemic, the consensus among researchers is that these challenges have increased significantly. The pandemic caused a new kind of burnout as employees were dealing with stress and anxiety around COVID-19, adjusting to remote work, adapting to irregular schedules, balancing caregiving and work, and more. Now more than ever ignoring employees' mental and emotional wellness is simply not an option. We saw companies like Bumble, Hootsuite, LinkedIn, and Nike give their employees a week off to reduce employee burnout, and many others are expanding their mental health benefits.

During the pandemic, one of Kanarys’ partners conducted an assessment around mental health support. While they had resources in place, they were surprised to find their employees needed even more support, and the resources they were already providing were inadequate. As a result, they started to measure employee sentiment around mental health and launched a Mental Health and Well-being Initiative. They made mental health training mandatory for the company’s leadership to help them be more aware of and invested in this aspect of their employees’ well-being; trained managers on what to do if they see signs of emotional distress or pandemic fatigue; and encouraged employees to use their vacation time to prioritize work-life balance. 

The world changed completely two years ago – lives and workplaces turned upside down. But while the world is shifting, it is an opportunity to mold workplaces into environments that are equitable, accepting and positive for all. We at Kanarys can help you do that! 

Kanarys is Your DEI Champion

At Kanarys, we are the diversity, equity, and inclusion people with the data-driven approach. Since 2018, Kanarys has aimed to change the world by creating equitable workplaces where everyone belongs. We guide your organization’s DEI path every step of the way with courage and collaboration. It starts with data, analytics and insights, and continues with recommendations and implementation. 

Our mission, as your partner and champion in the ever-evolving DEI journey: Help you understand what it takes to foster lasting, systemic change today and for tomorrow. Because when you succeed with DEI, your employees can thrive—and so can your organization.