Black Employees In White-Collar Jobs Feel More Valued Working From Home

A study assessing the working conditions of Black workers during the pandemic has found that they preferred remote working compared to the office as they felt more valued and supported.

Although working from home has its challenges from endless Zoom calls and juggling child care duties – for many Black workers in white-dominated jobs, getting out of the office has resulted in a vast improvement in their employee experience.

According to a survey by the Future Forum, a research consortium created by software maker Slack Technologies.

The survey of more than 10,000 people saw a 26 percentage point increase in Black respondents reporting “I am treated fairly at work” from a year ago, and similarly big jumps in other questions about their work lives. 

It found that overall, Black workers in the U.S. said their job experience was steadily improving, while responses plateaued among other racial groups in the most recent survey. 

The findings support longstanding research that shows Black workers, especially Black women, feel less valued and respected by colleagues, reported Bloomberg.

According to the report, returning to the office full-time is not a popular idea, but it’s most appealing to white employees.

While 26% of white employees surveyed wanted to return to the office five days a week, only 20% of Black employees, 22% of Latinx employees, and 23% of Asian employees said the same.

It also found that Black employees were the group most likely to want a flexible working experience, either through a remote-only or hybrid model that would have them in-office only part of the time.

In the survey, 68% of Black workers wanted flexible work policies, compared to 56% of white workers.