Why work remotely? Because it’s 2018!
It was Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau who succinctly described his gender-balanced cabinet, “Because it’s 2015”. An explanation so incredibly obvious it escaped leaders everywhere. Trudeau clearly is one of the coolest things to come out of Canada, but I digress. Fast forward and it’s 2018. I find myself with a Ph.D., along with a TEDx talk under my belt, and wrestling to find professional happiness while being primary care giver to my three-year-old daughter.
Coming off the hem of a successful thesis defense, I settled in with job applications in the humanitarian development sector and two job offers in my niche field: gender technical advising. Both positions demanded that I work in-house and were not open to a discussion on a remote location option. Why work remotely? Well, it’s personal. I would like to keep my family living together in one place and would like the flexibility to spend time with my daughter. I know all of this may sound a bit utopian, but I want to work hard and accomplish my goals. So why should it matter where I work from? Additionally, I want to be able to organize my day in the most productive and useful way possible which means taking the responsibility to create a conscious culture where as an employee I am safe, supported in an environment (virtual and non-virtual) where I am able to thrive and flourish.
My most recent experience within the human resources of the humanitarian development sector was sheer proof that while employees are prepared to meet the needs of the worlds most vulnerable, employees who are parents must face the decision of choosing whether to uproot their children or leave them behind at home base, usually with their partner. Most individuals who face most of the child care responsibilities within these types of decisions are in fact women. Unfortunately, I know all too well what separation from a parent does to children. When I declined the offer to the HR department, the manager did not flinch when I mentioned that I did not wish to separate my family regardless of the high pay scale that came with the job. My attempts to offer extensive travel was met with a hard no by the hiring manager. In fact, he even went so far to say that, “other colleagues do it [leave their kids for extensive periods of time]”. Those “other colleagues” he was referring too were men.
Tired of being mom-shamed and the inherent lack of gender sensitive HR policies in place, I sought to conduct my own research to empower myself and other parents who face the same concern: leaving their kids behind for a ‘great job’ is a deal breaker.
Conscious humanitarian agencies need to become visionary leaders instead of crisis managers . Providing working parents the options of job shares for remotely established professionals, sabbatical, flextime, and remote work is a sure investment in an organization’s employees and building longevity as well as loyalty in the organization/agency and limits high turnover of staff.
Taking a lead role in the responsibility and being committed to the well-being of employees, working parents in particular, motivates them to a higher level of performance and effectiveness. This in turn, earns the organization itself trust and respect along with creating a working culture that is transformative as well as ethical and leads with integrity.
Why? Because it’s 2018!
