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The Great Resignation describes how employees have been taking ownership of their careers and aspirations by reassessing their company鈥檚 culture and mission. This has led to many people leaving well-paying, secure jobs to pursue more social ventures that are better aligned with their personal values.

Companies are also responding to the easing of pandemic restrictions and changes to social distancing mandates. There鈥檚 a lot of discussion and debate about what in-person/remote working looks like in 2022.

This has been deemed the Great Return.

Inclusive working practices

found that 61% of Americans working remotely would choose to keep doing so if given the option.

Fifty-three percent of U.S. companies consider themselves either 鈥渇ully office鈥� or 鈥渕ostly office鈥� workplaces, while 78% of knowledge workers want 鈥渓ocation flexibility,鈥� and 72% about their company鈥檚 current level of flexibility.

The pandemic also forced a reassessment of what 鈥渨orking hours鈥� means. Many people continued to work while juggling remote schooling and child and/or family care, as well as dealing with their own mental and physical health issues. Working hours now accounts for flexible time zones and flexible working habits, not just the amount of 鈥渃onnected鈥� time you put in.

We know there鈥檚 tension between employer and employee expectations (just look at this), so all of this begs the question: What can we do?

Inclusive environments

For those employees who want to return to in-person work, does their office environment truly support them? Employees who are immunocompromised may want to see mask mandates remain in effect. Those with low or no vision may want to see improvements in accessibility for their physical environment.

It鈥檚 no longer enough to have designated parking spaces, accessibility ramps or hearing loops installed in your building. Corporations need to level up their accessibility game and create a truly inclusive, welcoming environment for all.

Inclusive commutes

The Great Return isn鈥檛 only about being in the office; it鈥檚 about getting to and from the building too. If companies insist employees have to be in-person, even if only part-time, then it鈥檚 worth factoring in how and when they arrive.

Despite progress, accessibility on public transport is severely lacking. According to the National Household Travel survey,. And many rely on public transportation to go about their daily lives. Added factors such as finding the right stop, identifying the correct vehicle amongst a crowd, and safely accessing the vehicle itself all require extra planning or validation by people with travel-limiting disabilities.

And that鈥檚 before we factor in that tThe Great Return will affect traditional peak travel times and traffic flow. Crowding and obstacles are yet another hazard faced by people with travel-limiting disabilities.

Many companies have already embraced flexible working hours so people can adjust the start and end times to suit their personal situation. Is there more that can be done?

We know there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Corporations need to be creative in how they assist their employees during these changing times. It鈥檚 not perks and incentives that will move the needle. It鈥檚 choice and compassion.

is the co-founder and CEO of , a startup turning public spaces into accessible environments for people with spatial orientation challenges, including thosepeople who are blind or visually impaired. Prior to RightHear, Meir founded Hubanana鈥攐ne of Israel’s leading tech hubs for startups and entrepreneurs. He holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology and business from The Open University of Israel.聽

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