‘Back To Office‘ Plans Impact Diversity Initiatives

The research is clear: flexibility now ranks second only to compensation on what employees care about — and it hits even harder with diverse employees. According to Future Forum data: 80% of Black, 78% of Hispanic, and 77% of Asian respondents want a flexible working experience, either through a hybrid or remote-only model. This compared to 74% of white employees. This race breakdown paints a stark picture for an industry that’s both focused on bringing employees back to the office while also pledging to increase diversity at all levels.  To explore what this means for the PR industry, PRovoke Media executive editor Aarti Shah spoke with Helen Kupp, head of product strategy & partnerships at Future Forum, and Naria Frazer, VP and head DEI at Praytell.  03:00 The Future Forum survey 05:37  What it’s like to be a racial minority at a PR agency 08:14  Re-skilling managers around inclusion, especially in remote environments 09:13  Subtle ways in-office networking can be exclusionary 11:22  Normalizing flexibility & not making remote workers ‘second class’ employees 16:38  How Praytell manages remote talent and its 4-day work week 19:58  It’s not just about remote work — it’s also asynchronous work 24:41  The “office is necessary for culture” trope is a myth 32:52   Advice for the industry