This is not a new problem - working parents, mums in particular, have been fighting this for years and certainly before pre covid. This is not a problem for the safety world to solve but it is important to be dialed into the design of work and how this impacts psychosocial safety. I anticipate later in the year we will see an increase in discrimination claims, as employer test new approaches to encourage workers to return to the office such as promotions, bonuses, pay difference and additional leave. We are already fighting the gender pay gap, with the 2023 gender pay gap at 13%, what will incentives like being paid more to come into the office do to this figure. The world managed to respond to working from home during COVID, let’s leverage the same skills and strategies to brief boards on the transition to hybrid working.

Tip: The role of the safety professional is important in partnering strongly with cross functional teams such as HR to make sure the risks of individuals are being assessed, and appropriate controls and engagement mechanisms are in place.