More than a year and a half into the COVID-19 crisis, the slow creep “back to normal” is proving more like the dawn of a new workplace era. While the outlines are still forming, we can see clearly that remote work and flexibility will be hallmarks of the new workplace age. These changes, of course, bring challenges for employers. While some issues are brand new, most are common problems simply manifesting in new ways.
Accommodations and Schedules
Remote work is more popular than ever, with employers and employees both embracing the change in at least some respects. Even employers who return to fully in-person schedules will likely find at least some unavoidable increase in remote work. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has long considered remote work a reasonable accommodation for employees with disabilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Advances in technology over the years have chipped away at employers’ arguments that remote work constitutes an undue hardship, and the pandemic added dramatic evidence that lots of work can, in fact, be done remotely. The paradigm shift also increased reliance on support technologies, such as Zoom and Slack, quelling some of the pre-pandemic concerns about decreased collaboration and communication. Employer upgrades to technological infrastructure to support remote work have also largely alleviated data security concerns.
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