Full understanding of the impact of Hybrid Working on Diversity & Inclusion will take years

'D&I at a Time of Uncertainty', Matheson and Trinity College Dublin's Diversity & Inclusion Conference, discussed how organisations can continue to drive D&I at a time of continued global uncertainty

Thursday, 20 October 2022

Less than half of organisations actively considered Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) when designing their hybrid working policies, with the real impact of hybrid working on D&I in the workplace set to take a number of years to fully understand.

These are just some of the findings of a snapshot survey of attendees at 'D&I at a Time of Uncertainty: Matheson and Trinity College Dublin's Diversity and Inclusion Conference 2022', held in Trinity College Dublin today.  The survey also found:

• Respondents believe the greatest differences between younger and older generations' behaviours in the multigenerational workplace include a range of factors, most notably, communication style (37%), career expectations (34%) and adaptability (21%).
• Despite more generations than ever now working side by side, only 27% of respondents believe their organisation has taken steps to minimise any potential generational conflicts.
• 48% of respondents believe their organisation actively considered D&I when designing its hybrid working policy.
• 64% expect that it will take between 1 to 5 years to fully understand the impact of hybrid working on D&I in the workplace, with 31% of respondents estimating a longer timeframe of 5 to 10 years.

The conference - held in-person and virtually - heard from speakers across a number of organisations and sectors, including HubSpot, AIB, Citi, Northern Trust Ireland, Clifford Chance, Trinity College Dublin and Matheson, and centred around two key themes:

• Multi-generational workplaces: challenges and opportunities. This panel explored the challenges and opportunities organisations face as more generations than ever before work side by side.
• Hybrid Working: its potential impact on workplace diversity, inclusion and employee wellbeing. This session focused on the challenges and opportunities which are emerging as hybrid working becomes embedded in organisational culture, including a discussion on employee wellbeing.

Michael Jackson, Managing Partner at Matheson commented:

“We are delighted to be collaborating with Trinity College Dublin once again on this annual D&I conference, which enables us to work together to harness insights from experts and industry leaders on how businesses and institutions can build inclusive workplaces which drive innovation, attract talent, and support graduates and employees to bring their whole selves to work. Today’s event gives us the opportunity to shine a light on the importance of diversity and inclusion in times of uncertainty, and explore what companies can do to ensure that D&I remains a core part of their agendas as the focus shifts to the other challenges of the future. At Matheson, the benefits of embedding D&I within our culture became more than clear ever during the pandemic and through our Impactful Business Programme, we continue to promote an inclusive environment as part of our hybrid working model, where diversity is valued and people feel they belong and can achieve their full potential."

Professor Neville Cox, Registrar of Trinity College Dublin and Professor in the School of Law highlighted the importance of the partnership which Trinity and Matheson have developed in advancing, encouraging, fostering and protecting diversity, and recognised the University's longstanding and evolving commitment to D&I, commenting:

"Trinity Law School is very grateful to Matheson for the opportunity to work in collaboration on the D&I Conference.  The Law School has a long tradition of championing diversity and inclusion, both within our educational programmes and through contributing to social and legal reform in Ireland.  We are delighted to be able to continue those endeavours through this event."

Speakers at the conference included: Michael Jackson, Managing Partner, Matheson LLP; Tara Doyle, Chairperson, Matheson LLP; Siobhan Sweeney, Global Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Leader, HubSpot; Melíosa O'Caoimh, Country Head, Northern Trust Ireland; Denis Doolan, Strategic Head of Inclusion & Diversity, AIB; Professor Neville Cox, Registrar and Professor in Law, Trinity College Dublin; Andrew Norris, Senior Vice President, Legal Department, Citi; Mark Bennett, Director of Portal, Trinity College Dublin; Tiernan Brady, Global Director of Inclusion at Clifford Chance LLP; and Declan Treanor, Director of Disability Services at Trinity College Dublin. The event was hosted by Daragh Bogan, Matheson's Impactful Business Programme Manager.