Remote Work: Finding Balance and Boundaries Between Work and Home

Demystifying Diversity

In the first installment of Season 3 of the Demystifying Diversity Podcast, host Daralyse Lyons takes the listener on a deep-dive into the opportunities and difficulties that have been presented with the rise of remote work. Daralyse uncovers the ways in which the landscape of work as we know it has shifted since the Covid-19 pandemic began in 2020, and the guests featured in this episode share insights on the impact remote work has had on people's personal and professional lives.

In this episode, you will learn about:

* How the rise of remote work has created a more equitable playing field for persons with disabilities.

* How remote work has created more space for adults to be present with their children and their household obligations, while still fulfilling their roles at work.

* How remote work has blurred the boundaries between work and home, and how some people have thrived in this environment, while others have not.

* The disparity in the work-from-home experience for caregivers and those who are not in caregiving roles.

* The disparity in experience between individuals of different identities (such as gender and/or race) when it comes to opportunities and experiences of remote work.

* How remote work has cultivated efficiency in communication in the workplace, and has helped curb opportunities for workplace harassment, unwanted comments, etc.

* The ways in which working from home can accelerate mental health concerns for some, particularly around issues of loneliness and lack of social outlets.

* How going virtual has been a challenge and a blessing to startups and established companies alike.

Our guest experts this episode include:

Shanna Hocking - Shanna is a thought-leader, keynote speaker, and writer with 20 years experience working in leadership development. Shanna is the author of One Bold Move a Day and the host of the One Bold Move a Day Podcast.

Sabrina Volpone - Sabrina is an Associate Professor in the Organizational Leadership Division at the University of Colorado's Leeds School of Business, and a diversity researcher. She uses both qualitative and quantitative methods to understand how organizations manage their diverse workforces and how diverse individuals flourish through the management of their identities at work. Sabrina spoke about there being a variety of experiences for those working remotely during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Munir Mandviwalla - Munir is the Professor of Management Information Systems, a Milton F. Stauffer Senior Research Fellow, and the Executive Director of the Institute for Business and Information Technology at Temple University's Fox School of Business.

Natalie Pedersen - Natalie is the Associate Professor of Legal Studies at Drexel University's LeBow College of Business, Vice President of the Employment Law Section of the Academy of Legal Studies in Business and Secretary of the Mid-Atlantic Academy of Legal Studies in Business.

Chair Charlotte Burrows - Designated by President Biden as Chair of the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission - EEOC - on January 20, 2021, Chari Burrows has served as a Commissioner of the EEOC for multiple terms and who previously served as Associate Deputy Attorney General at the United States Department of Justice, as well as General Counsel for Civil and Constitutional Rights to Senator Edward M Kennedy.

Elizabeth Smith - Elizabeth is a graduate of Rollins College who double-majored in Music and Communications and is currently participating in the Accelerate Graduate Studies Program to obtain a Master of Public Health degree by 2024. She is a disability advocate and researcher who spoke about her experiences with remote work, and what her research showed about how remote work has enabled many individuals with disabilities to attend to their needs while optimizing their contributions and feeling connected in situations where they might have previously been excluded, either due to inaccessibility, or to identity-based discrimination.

Joyce Jelks - Joyce Jelks, known personally and professionally as JJ, is the Head of People and Culture at Wieden and Kennedy, NY, an Army Major, the Chief Founding Member, Relationship Engagement Manager for Sean Johnson and Founder of Ottawa Park HR Advisory.

Marta Rusek - Marta is a digital storyteller with a passion for helping mission-driven organizations tell their stories. She works full-time as a social media strategist for a nonpartisan, pro-democracy, legal nonprofit in Washington, DC and she maintains a freelance client roster as a storyteller-for-hire who uses vulnerability and versatility to amplify important narratives.

Emma Bloksberg-Fireovid - Emma B-F is a speaker, trainer and leadership coach for women and nonbinary folks in the technology industry. She's worked with 100s of leaders to accelerate their careers, maximize their confidence, and amplify their impact.

Cameron Footman - Cameron is the first voice of Indigipedia.ca, a lifelong entrepreneur and technology advocate and the founder of Woodcrest Construction – a contracting company which specializes in welding & steel fabrication with a focus on heated furniture & art metalworks.

Sunny Taylor Sunny is a decades-long entrepreneur with an at-home accounting practice of a few hundred active clients. She is also Daralyse's mother, and is the content editor and creative collaborator for this podcast.

Jacqui Lipton - Jacqui is a law professor at the University of Pittsburgh, an attorney, a literary agent, and the author of numerous academic texts. Jacqui also authored Law and Authors: A Legal Handbook for Writers, which is a must-read for authors looking to know their rights, increase their self-advocacy skills, and understand the intricacies of the publishing industry. She founded her literary agency, Raven Quill Literary Agency, right at the start of the pandemic and she recently transitioned to agenting at the Tobias Literary Agency.

Rachel Lyons - Rachel is the Executive Director at Space for Humanity, a nonprofit organization which aims to make spaceflight available as a way to expand human perspectives, the former Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors of Students for the Exploration and Development of Space-USA, and my cousin, started working remotely in the spring of 2020 and has thrived with the transition.

Liz Taylor - Liz is an Assistant Professor in the Sport and Recreation Management Department at Temple University's School of Sport Tourism and Hospitality Management, whose work examines gender descrimination, homophobia, sexual harassment and assault within the athletic industry, has done a lot of work examining cultures of abuse as well as how workplace expectations of employee engagement can lead to burnout.

Yulia Barnakova is the Digital Innovation Lead for the consulting practice of Heidrick & Struggles, a global Executive Search and Leadership Advisory firm. She oversees the digital dexterity development efforts for the practice, developing future-ready leaders who can stay ahead of disruptive technology, innovate with data, and transform their organizations for the digital age.

Amanda Arias - Amanda is the Director of People and Culture at Jubilee Media, who prior to her current position accumulated more than 10 years of experience helping growth-centric startups build high-performing teams, operates from the motto "treat people like people."

Kelli Clark - Kelli is the Chief Culture Officer at Aon United, who directs the firm's strategies for inclusive people leadership and culture initiatives and who played a pivotal role in scaling Aon's signature cultural workshop - Leading Aon United - to reach more than 800 colleagues virtually while maintaining more than 98% positive feedback.

Steph Gantman Kaplan - Steph is a labor and employment attorney and partner at Blank Rome. Steph was listed in the 2020 Philadelphia Business Journal as Best of the Bar: Employment Litigation. Her professional expertise extends to all areas of labor and employment law, including helping organizations to be intentional about implementing policies that seek to increase employee satisfaction while being governed by laws and best practices.

Aleksi Aaltonen - Aleksi is an Assistant Professor of Management Information Systems at Temple University's Fox School of Business has over 20 years experience in digital innovation, both as an academic and an entrepreneur.

Silvia Masiero - Silvia is an Associate Professor of Information Systems at the University of Oslo and the author of more than 20 peer-reviewed works in the domain of Information and Communication Technology for Development, affectionately known as ICT4D.

Click here for a full transcript of this episode.

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