The way many of us work has changed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. For some mothers, having remote and hybrid work options has helped them achieve a better work-life balance. • Brianna Shereck, who has two young children, said her change to fully remote work has allowed more flexibility to attend to both her family and career, and it's something experts note organizations should strive to continue. • "I feel like there's been a massive social shift. People understand that you also have a family," she said. • The number of Canadians working exclusively from home fell from almost 25 per cent at the beginning of 2022 to nearly 17 per cent in August, according to Statistics Canada. • In August 2020, a third of the Canadian workforce was concerned about returning to normal working conditions, according to the statistics agency — of that number, half were mothers whose youngest children were younger than six. • As many Canadian workplaces mandate their employees to return to the office, Odette Hutchings, chief operating officer for the Women in Capital Markets network, said they shouldn't miss the opportunity to make the inclusion of new mothers in the workforce a legacy of the pandemic. • She said the first step to ensuring mothers are included is to avoid remote or hybrid work options that are too complex. • "If these flexible work arrangements are so complicated to access that employees aren't making use of them, then obviously that's not useful," Hutchings said. • For organizations to truly embrace the shift, company leadership needs to enforce equal use of parental leave and flexible or remote work options, but model its use themselves, she said. • "It's not enough to say [mothers] can access flexible work, meanwhile all of the leadership are going in five days a week." • To hear from other mothers on how the pandemic has changed their approach to work, head to our link in bio. • • • (Photo: Rebecca Sehn; Reporting: Kiernan Green/CBC) #COVID19 #remotework #hybridwork #parenting #career #workforce #CBCNews #CBC