The Equity Mindset

7Remote Work Is a Reasonable Accommodation (and We Owe the Disability Justice Community an Apology)

Discussions about mental health cannot be seen as a luxury, which is why I will continue to advocate that remote work is one of the most equitable things you can do.

— Amber Cabral, inclusion strategist and founder/CEO of Cabral Co.

There are so many angles we can enter into the conversation about why remote work needs to be a part of as many organizations as possible—including how it not being an option could pose serious issues with retention.¹ What we do know is that we have proved in a relatively short amount of time that we can do almost all professions outside of a physical building; we are able to balance work and life, even during stressful moments like the pandemic; and mental health and overall wellness can be incorporated into our schedules, and is now something job seekers look for when pursuing their next endeavor.

Many leaders embraced remote work, as they were able to see that there was relatively little to no threat to productivity (which in a capitalist society makes sense; if the sausage is making money, who cares how it's made). Yet and still, there is an ongoing struggle of “to be in the office, or not to be in the office, that is the question” that I’ve come to recognize more as a fear of management evolving and an attachment to white‐dominant norms of “seeing” people working to believe that it's real. There are a lot of equity aspects we can focus on to ...