Author: Calum Carson (Page 2 of 2)

By Simone Cheng, Senior Policy Adviser, Acas

As workplaces move beyond the traditional 9-to-5 office culture, the horizon unveils a promising era of hybrid working—blending the best of remote and on-site collaboration. But this revolution must be inclusive. We must ensure that no one is left behind, that every voice is heard in shaping the way forward, and that every door is open to opportunity.

With more disabled workers moving out of work than moving in, and the disability employment gap now at its widest point since 2018, there is a real urgency in ensuring hybrid working practices are both accessible and sustainable in the longer term.

That’s where the Inclusive Hybrid and Remote Working Study (IHRWS) comes in. This two-year project, led by Dr Paula Holland of Lancaster University, seeks to better understand disabled workers’ experiences of hybrid and remote working in order to promote more inclusive workplaces and indeed, greater labour market participation. Acas exists to make working life better for everyone, and so we are delighted to be involved in this timely and important study.

Insights from calls to the Acas helpline tell us that implementation of hybrid models can often fail to take account of disabled workers’ needs. Previous research by Paula Holland and The Work Foundation (a project partner on IHRWS) also found that of all respondents who requested additional support or new adjustments while working remotely, almost 1 in 5 (19.1%) had their request refused, with no alternative arrangements put in place. To make hybrid working work for disabled workers, Acas believes there are some fundamental actions employers should prioritise.

Listen to the evidence

A steady stream of research consistently points to the positives of hybrid working. A recent report by the CIPD, for instance, found that 68% of employers that offer hybrid or remote working say it has allowed their organisation to attract and retain more talent. Further,  research by The Work Foundation noted a huge 85% of disabled workers felt more productive while working from home, adding to a long list of survey findings which challenge the myth of on-site productivity.

Evidence also shows the multitude of benefits of home and hybrid working on workers’ health and wellbeing. For disabled workers in particular, being in the comfort of one’s own space can provide the flexibility to manage their health condition in a way that suits them. This can include, for example, being able to take regular breaks or administer any medication as necessary, as well as having ready access to a support system around them, such as family and friends. A home environment can also mean less distractions and sensory demands, which can be of particular advantage to people with neurodivergent conditions.

In order to reap the benefits, however, organisations need to take a considered approach. Managed poorly and without an appropriate framework in place, hybrid working can have negative impacts on both physical and mental health, as well as more broadly on job satisfaction and job quality.

Understand the duty of care

As set out in Acas’s guidance on employers’ legal obligations, employers must by law do all they reasonably can to protect their employees’ health, safety and wellbeing at work. Thinking specifically about hybrid working, this includes the following:

• Carrying out a suitable and sufficient risk assessment of the home and employer workspace – If changes are needed to make sure an employee can work at home in a safe and healthy way, employers are responsible for making sure they happen
• Providing the appropriate equipment in every work location – Not only does this allow a smooth transition between different workplaces, but it can also reduce the risk of musculoskeletal complaints and disorders

• Being responsive to people’s needs – Reasonable adjustments are often very simple changes which carry little or no cost. These can come in all forms depending on individual needs, such as changes to start and finish times, ad hoc time off for medical appointments, assistive technology, or additional managerial support
• Protecting employees from discrimination, bullying and harassment at work – Employers must take steps to prevent discrimination, whether on site or at home. Policies should plainly set out what is and is not acceptable. Examples of remote discrimination include offensive remarks on social media, or inappropriately stopping someone from coming to meetings or activities
• Putting robust measures in place to minimise stress – Working remotely can make it easier to hide excessive hours or for people to work while unwell. As well as setting clear expectations around work, managers should agree regular check-ins with their staff to discuss wellbeing. Together, parties can identify any triggers and explore the potential solutions, including any reasonable adjustments

Of course, we should always strive to go beyond the legal minimum to cultivate an inclusive environment. Employers need to consider every aspect of working life and address any risks of marginalising their disabled workforce, whether inadvertently or otherwise. For example, it’s important to avoid ‘proximity bias’ so that those working remotely don’t have fewer learning and development opportunities than their office counterparts. Ongoing data gathering, including through direct engagement with disabled workers, representatives and staff networks, can provide helpful insights on where and which interventions are needed.

Take a people-centred approach

No two situations will ever be the same – the same disability can affect different people in unique ways, and conditions can fluctuate or progress over time. The very individual impacts of a health condition mean that managers need to be well-trained to have the knowledge and skills to engage sensitively in regular, two-way conversations with individuals to understand their specific needs. This is especially important in a remote setting where day-to-day signals might be less easily picked up.

As with every change, the path to progress requires thoughtful navigation. Managers and senior leaders should be purposeful in creating psychologically safer workplaces, backing up their commitments with tangible actions – from implementing strong policies, to talking openly and sharing personal experiences, to role-modelling positive behaviours. Everyone should feel able to open up about a health condition if they wish to and feel safe in the knowledge that sharing this information will each time be met with understanding, compassion and support.

Making hybrid working sustainable requires organisations to actively seek out the voices of their disabled workforce, and that engagement will prove far more meaningful if those workers are already empowered to speak up.

Simone Cheng is a Senior Policy Adviser for Workplace Policy at the Advisory, Conciliatory and Arbitration Service (Acas).

To have your own voice heard on how to make remote and hybrid work more inclusive within a post-pandemic employment landscape, please participate in this research by completing our survey of disabled workers’ experiences. Employers are making decisions now about future ways of working that will affect the long-term working conditions, health and wellbeing of disabled workers across the UK and beyond, so we thank you for taking the time to be involved in shaping these decisions through your own participation in this project.

Our Senior Research Associate Dr Calum Carson has written a piece for the LSE Business Review exploring the critical need for employers to be more inclusive of disabled workers’ phyiscal and mental health needs in the workplace, which you can find in full by clicking on this link.

By Jane Hatton, Founder and CEO of Evenbreak

Employers across the UK are currently making decisions about the future shape and make up of new forms of hybrid and remote working following the pandemic, and there is a risk that these new models of work will not be inclusive of the needs of disabled workers if their voices are not heard at this critical time of discussion and deliberation. To lessen this risk, Lancaster University are currently conducting a study, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, into Inclusive Remote and Hybrid Working, based on the lived experience of disabled people, which will add their voices to this debate.

This is a subject I am heavily invested in. As a disabled employer, all team members of Evenbreak, the social enterprise I founded in 2011, are also disabled people. We have all worked remotely since our inception, long before Covid-19 started its devastating impact on the world’s population. Evenbreak supports disabled people into new or better work, through a global specialist disability job board, and through an inclusive and accessible career support service. I can see the issues around remote and hybrid working from a number of perspectives – as an employer, as a disabled person who works remotely, as an employer of disabled people who work remotely, and from working with disabled people who are looking for new or better work in this new landscape.

The reason I chose a remote working model for Evenbreak – long before it was fashionable – was for a number of reasons. I founded the company from my bed, following spinal surgery which had left me with limited ability to sit, stand or walk, meaning travelling anywhere was very problematic and I needed to work lying down. Selfishly, I needed to work remotely, as few workplaces offer the facilities to work in that position.

Whilst my home was geared up for my needs (such as a laptop suspended above my bed), I knew that this was the case for many other disabled people, too. As I had made the decision, right from the start, to only employ disabled people, offering remote working seemed eminently sensible.

Another important consideration was that, like any other business, I wanted the very best people, and did not want to restrict my search to the small area within travelling distance of a particular location. I wanted talented people from wherever they happened to be – and twelve years on, our team are spread across the UK, including Scotland, Cornwall, London, the Midlands and elsewhere. It means that we can employ people in other countries, as we expand globally.

As a business, it also saves a significant amount of money on real estate – not to be sniffed at!

Remote working had obvious benefits for Evenbreak, but what about its people? Well, if they had been expected to come to work in a central London location (where I now live), none of the team would have even applied for the job. Evenbreak would have missed out on an extremely talented group of people.

For many of our team, even if they had lived within reach of an office, a daily commute would prove difficult, if not impossible. This might be because of pain or fatigue, but also because of inaccessible public transport. Not having the daily fight through rush hour traffic, or crowded public transport, is an immediately obvious advantage to not mandating office working.

Also, our team have homes which are geared up for their access requirements.  If they need specific furniture, equipment or technology to carry out their roles, this is provided for them, either through Access to Work, or during the current backlog and slow turnaround, through us.

Many people, our team included, prefer to work at different times during the day. Some prefer to work at evenings and weekends, uninterrupted by the constant stream of emails and phone calls. Some prefer to work from early in the morning, others not until their morning care needs have been met. And others choose to work flexibly, to accommodate fluctuating conditions, or unpredictable care needs. Working from home makes this easy – no keeping offices open for extended periods or travelling at unusual times of the day.

Homeworking works really well for Evenbreak and its team of disabled employees. So, is it the panacea for all disabled people? Absolutely not!

There are some real risks around remote and hybrid working.

One was discovered when the pandemic lockdowns ended. Having discovered that working from home opened up the candidate market to more disabled people, some employers took the view that disabled people could work from home, whilst non-disabled people could work on site. This could also negate the need to make the physical workplace accessible. This, of course, would lead to unfair and unjustified segregation. Whilst working from home may suit many disabled people, many others much prefer to work on site. Similarly, working from home suits many non-disabled people and would be their preference, whilst others may prefer to work on site. The ideal situation is that, where roles allow, all employees would have the option to work from home for all or part of the week, regardless of disability.

Another risk is that if more disabled people work from home, through choice or necessity, they may be overlooked for development opportunities or promotion, or be missed out on interesting projects, and the informal communication that happens in the workplace. They may feel isolated from the team, and excluded from important conversations.

People work for many reasons, and high up on the list can be the social aspect. Disabled people are more likely than others to feel isolated, and working away from their team mates can exacerbate this. We try to combat this by having online Morning Coffee and Afternoon Tea sessions, where anyone who is free can drop in, and talk about work is forbidden (although naturally crops up sometimes). We also have in-person get togethers at various events throughout the year, and a whole team event two or three times a year, arranging accessible transport and accommodation for everyone.

People who work in a hybrid way, who require accessible equipment (ergonomic chairs, height adjustable desks, assistive technology, etc), will require two sets – one for home and one for the workplace. Employers are not always prepared to meet this additional cost, meaning some employees will be working without their access needs being met, for at least part of the week. This may affect their physical or mental health, their performance and their career prospects.

Another risk with hybrid working is the use of ‘hot desking’. For many, this will be fine, but for others can cause problems. A person with visual impairment, who has everything laid out where they can find it. An autistic employee who struggles with change. Someone with hearing impairment who might like to sit with their back to a wall so they can see people approaching them. This is fairly simple to manage, but not all employers are open to making exceptions.

In conclusion, the wider acceptance of new ways of working, including remote and hybrid working patterns, are generally much better for everyone. However, like every other working practice, inclusion and accessibility need to be designed and embedded in from the start, to ensure that disabled people do not face further disadvantages in the process.

Jane Hatton is the founder and CEO of Evenbreak, an organisation dedicated to joining up disabled jobseekers with inclusively-minded employers.

To have your own voice heard on how to make remote and hybrid work more inclusive within a post-pandemic employment landscape, please participate in this research by completing our survey of disabled workers’ experiences. Employers are making decisions now about future ways of working that will affect the long-term working conditions, health and wellbeing of disabled workers across the UK and beyond, so we thank you for taking the time to be involved in shaping these decisions through your own participation in this project.

By Daisy Hooper, Head of Policy and Innovation at the Chartered Management Institute

The COVID-19 pandemic forced organisations to think differently about work. As a result, many adopted or expanded remote and hybrid working. This change in working practices has provided flexibility and continuity for many, but it has also exposed pre-existing inequalities. For disabled workers, the physical and social barriers that impeded inclusion in traditional work environments often persisted in the virtual realm.

At CMI, we know from our own research – The Everyone Economy – that positive views around inclusion and supporting workers to achieve their best are often not backed up by concrete action to deliver on these ambitions. For example, 4 in 5 (81%) respondents to our research thought disabled people were underrepresented in their organisation but only 1 in 5 (22%) said their organisation was planning to take steps to increase representation of disabled people at any level. A further two thirds of respondents said their organisation either had no initiatives around disability in the workplace or they did not know if their organisation had any initiatives. This highlights the need for a deeper understanding of the challenges faced by disabled workers and the role that managers can play in supporting them to thrive.

Previous research from Lancaster University and The Work Foundation found that disabled employees faced additional challenges compared to their non-disabled counterparts when working remotely or in hybrid environments. These challenges included difficulties in accessing appropriate technology and accommodations, feeling isolated and disconnected from their teams, and facing barriers in career progression opportunities.

Managers hold a critical position in understanding the experiences of disabled workers in remote and hybrid work settings. We know they can improve communication and promote better engagement, support necessary accommodations and flexibilities. Research by CMI and The Work Foundation found that line manager support for remote working is considered particularly important by disabled workers, with 61% of disabled workers indicating they felt comfortable asking for remote working because their line manager was supportive of it.

Additionally, international research, conducted by the likes of Business Disability Forum and Boston Consulting Group  emphasise the significance of well-trained managers in promoting disability inclusion. Their work on supporting an inclusive culture for employees with disabilities indicates that managers who receive training on disability-related issues are more likely to create inclusive work environments, effectively communicate with disabled employees, and provide reasonable accommodations.

All of this is important because there is increasing evidence of the link between diversity and inclusion, job satisfaction, wellbeing and productivity. Given the under representation of disabled people in the UK workforce this represents significant untapped potential. For employers, a more diverse workforce brings with it fresh ideas and innovative points of view that can positively impact on the overall success of a company.

By actively engaging with disabled employees, managers can gain insights into the specific challenges they face and identify potential solutions, particularly when the numbers of those reporting a disability in work are increasing. This understanding allows managers to create an inclusive work environment that supports the diverse needs of their team members and enables them to perform at their best. Managers can make a big difference to the experience of disabled people in work simply by prioritising regular two-way communication and acting on any queries or suggestions that come up. One of the reasons this work is important is to shed more light on the experiences of disabled people because we know that data collection around disabled representation and barriers to their progression is limited.

Understanding disabled workers’ experiences in remote and hybrid work settings is essential for designing inclusive work models in a post-pandemic landscape. We want to see managers, as key stakeholders, actively engaging in this process by recognising the challenges faced by disabled employees, providing necessary support and accommodations, and fostering a culture of inclusion. This research project will provide valuable insights into ’what works’ and learning from this, managers can play a positive role, paving the way for a work environment where disabled workers are valued, empowered, and able to thrive.

Daisy Hooper is Head of Policy and Innovation at the Chartered Management Institute (CMI).

To have your own voice heard on how to make remote and hybrid work more inclusive within a post-pandemic employment landscape, please participate in this research by completing our survey of disabled workers’ experiences. Employers are making decisions now about future ways of working that will affect the long-term working conditions, health and wellbeing of disabled workers across the UK and beyond, so we thank you for taking the time to be involved in shaping these decisions through your own participation in this project.

Dr Calum Carson (Senior Research Associate for the Study) has written a guest article for our project partner the Work Foundation’s website, which you can find in full by clicking on this link. The article explores the origins of how the Inclusive Remote and Hybrid Working Study came to be, why it is so important to better understand disabled workers’ experiences of remote and hybrid working and what they need to make such models of work inclusive to their needs, and how you can get involved in the research and ensure that your voice is heard in our findings yourself.

The Work Foundation is a leading think tank for improving working lives in the UK. They believe everyone should have access to secure, rewarding and high-quality work, and deliver rigorous applied research to tackle structural inequalities in the labour market and improve working lives across the UK.

Today we are launching the first stage of research for this study, in the form of a nationwide survey exploring disabled workers’ experiences of remote and/or hybrid working. The survey is open to all those with experiences of either, and can be found by clicking anywhere on this line.

The survey is open for completion by those who:

– Are aged 18 or older
– Identify as disabled and/or have a limiting long-term health condition
– Work in private/public/third sector organisations of varying sizes
– And have experiences of remote and/or hybrid working, regardless of present employment status.

We strongly encourage any and all those who fit this criteria to complete the survey, and/or share it with your own networks too: by participating, you are helping to identify how employers can make remote and hybrid working more inclusive of disabled workers’ needs. This is important to promote disabled workers’ recruitment, job retention and progression, and ensure that they are not left behind as the world of work continues to evolve and employers continue to make decisions now about future ways of working.

Thank you in advance for your support of this study, and we look forward to sharing the findings with you in due course!

Welcome to the Study!

Hello, and welcome to the first blog post detailing the development of the Inclusive Remote and Hybrid Working Study! This page will provide frequent updates on the progress of the project until its completion in December 2024 and beyond as various outputs from the study’s findings are published.

Whilst forthcoming posts on this page will focus more fully on the latest fieldwork developments of the project, in our first blog we outline the study.

Breaking it down

The Inclusive Remote and Hybrid Working Study is funded by the Nuffield Foundation and explores, through the experiences of disabled workers and employers, how to make remote and hybrid working more inclusive to promote disabled workers’ recruitment, job retention and progression. The rationale for the research stems from the ongoing discussions among employers, policymakers and researchers (among others) as to what the future shape of work might be in a post-pandemic world in which new forms of remote and hybrid working are increasingly available to workers, and to consider whether these changes will be inclusive of disabled workers’ needs.

The project builds on a previous Work Foundation research study conducted by some members of this project team (Paula Holland and Rebecca Florisson), in which it was reported that disabled employees are generally keen to continue working remotely at least some of the time, with 65.8% of disabled workers surveyed ideally wanting to work remotely 80-100% of the time (or 4-5 days a week), while another 16% wanted to work remotely 60% of the time (or the equivalent of 3 days in a full-time working week). However, we found participants were also concerned that working remotely may disadvantage them; for example an increased lack of visibility in the workplace may negatively impact disabled workers’ success to work opportunities and progression.

The report from this research can be found in full by clicking anywhere on this line.

Defining our terms

When utilising terms as nuanced and complex as “disability” and “hybrid working” as the focal points of an academic research project, it is vital for the team conducting the study in question to be as open and clear as possible in how they are specifically defining such terms. There is an extensive literature and a series of ongoing debates on what constitutes “disability” or an “impairment” in particular, and the intricacies of these discussions have continued to evolve over the years as new areas of argument are put forth: is Long-Covid, for example, considered a disability? And if so, what are the implications for individual workers and their employers of this, let alone the larger socioeconomic, legal and political ramifications?

While such debates will continue to play out, and perhaps never be fully settled, it is important for both participants of our study and those interested in the research we are conducting to be aware of how we ourselves are defining disability for the purposes of this project, and whether participants themselves identify as being disabled or having an impairment of some form. After careful consideration with our Public Advisory Group, which includes representatives from Disabled People’s Organisations as well as individuals with varying impairments/health conditions and experience of balancing their conditions with home-/hybrid working, we have arrived at the following definition as displayed in the disabled workers’ survey element of the research:

“Do you regard yourself as being disabled and/or having some form of impairment or learning disability or long-term health condition? By ‘long-term’ we mean lasting (or expected to last) 12 months or more. This could include depression, anxiety, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), chronic fatigue, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, blindness, Long-Covid, Cancer, HIV, or other physical, mental, behavioural and/or cognitive conditions.”

The broad nature of this definition, encompassing long-term health conditions of 12 months or more as well as more traditionally accepted examples of what constitutes being disabled or having an impairment, recognises the ongoing discussions and debates referred to above, as well as a desire to have as broad a participant base as possible for this project’s survey to ensure that a wide range of worker’s experiences are better understood and reflected in our findings.

In a similar fashion, it is equally important for participants in our study to understand what we define as “hybrid working” and “remote working” to understand the specifics of what we are seeking to understand, which we define in the following ways:

“By ‘remote working’ we mean working from home or from a remote office outside of the employer’s premises. ‘Hybrid working’ is where people spend part of their time working remotely, and part of their time working in their employer’s premises.”

These definitions provide clear boundaries for both participants in the research and other interested parties to understand more fully what the specific focus of this project is, and what we are most keen to explore through it.

Next steps

Fieldwork is scheduled to begin in early summer 2023, and will include:

• A UK-wide survey of disabled employees about their experiences of remote or hybrid working and what inclusive remote or hybrid working looks like
• Follow-up interviews with a sample of survey respondents.
• Interviews with employers and organisational case studies about how they are implementing remote or hybrid working in the context of workforce diversity.
• Online focus groups with policymakers from the Department for Work and Pensions, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, The Government Equalities Office, and devolved administrations.

The first stage of this study will be the nationwide survey of disabled workers’ experiences of hybrid and remote working, whether in a previous role and/or a present role (if currently employed). The survey is now live on the project’s website following its current piloting stage which you can find by clicking anywhere on this line, and we encourage all those who meet the criteria to fill out the survey and help participate in this important piece of research.

This is time-critical research: employers are making decisions now about future ways of working that will affect the long-term working conditions, health and wellbeing of disabled workers, and this project will ensure that such decisions are taken with a greater level of understanding of how both employers and workers feel about them.

Keep your eyes peeled for future posts on this page highlighting how the project is going as it continues to develop, and thank you for your interest in our research at this stage: we can’t wait to share our findings with you!

Welcome to the project website for the Inclusive Hybrid and Remote Working Study (IHRWS), funded by the Nuffield Foundation and led by Lancaster University.

This project explores UK-based disabled workers’ experiences of hybrid and remote working, specifically in how to make remote and hybrid working (working both at home and from the office) more inclusive to promote disabled workers’ recruitment, job retention and progression.

The project will run from 2023 through to December 2024, with fieldwork commencing Summer 2023.

Please feel free to explore this website from the drop-down menu above to learn more about the project and how you can get involved.