A recent Ibec survey indicated that most employers are not considering an increase in on-site attendance in the coming year. This suggests a stabilisation in hybrid working. The benefits in reduced commute times and improved work-life balance are clear but there are disadvantages, not least the potential to miss out on promotion due to absence from the office.
People tend to have a proximity bias, which can lead to organisations overlooking the best candidates for promotion and valuable talent moving on due to perceived lack of opportunity. How can organisations and individual employees overcome the proximity principle?
There are several peer-reviewed published research papers documenting the negative impact of working from home on career development, including promotion and earnings, says Cathy Balfe, career coach at Career Coach Me. “These negative effects were documented both before and after the pandemic.
“The problem with proximity bias in organisations is that people’s career development depends on visibility rather than ability, impacting role and, ultimately, organisational performance.
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“It can also lead to a negative working culture within an organisation, with hybrid or remote workers becoming disillusioned and demotivated. Furthermore, it contributes to existing biases towards workers with caring responsibilities, including parents, who are more likely to be working in a hybrid or remote capacity.”
As hybrid working is consistently shown to be a key driver in attracting and retaining talent, organisations are increasingly aware that hybrid working can unintentionally embed proximity bias into promotion and performance decisions, says Laura Flynn, head of people consulting at EY Ireland.
“EY’s 2024 Work Reimagined Survey shows that only a minority of knowledge workers are on site four to five days per week, and most employers are targeting up to three remote days as their standard policy.”
Organisations falling prey to proximity bias will lose out on talent, as hybrid and remote workers will look to move to more accommodating employers offering fairer career development opportunities, agrees Balfe. “In the face of a labour market with significant forecast skill shortages, this is an important consideration for future-looking organisations.”
Proximity bias isn’t a reason to avoid hybrid working; it’s a reason to modernise performance management, says Flynn. “In an Irish labour market where employment remains close to record levels, fair, trusted and outcomes-based systems are becoming essential to attracting and sustaining critical talent.
“EY’s Mobility Reimagined research shows that organisations with more evolved mobility functions are 3.7 times more likely to address medium-term talent shortages and drive business growth, signalling that the organisations who design smarter, future-fit people systems will be the ones that stay ahead.”
Employees also play a role in ensuring their work patterns do not inhibit their career progression, Flynn continues. “While not physically present, they may need to consider how they make their achievements visible and recognised, as well as engaging in regular one-to-ones to discuss their progress and career goals to counter the ‘out of sight, out of mind’ effect.”
Training programmes have been developed and rolled out to help organisations overcome unconscious bias – typically focusing on hiring and promotion decisions relating to groups of workers who face discrimination in the labour market (ethnic minorities, female workers, older workers), says Balfe.
“Hybrid or remote workers can be added to this category in existing unconscious bias training programmes,” she says.
“Some key factors of these training programmes proven to be successful are explored in a Harvard Business Review article Unconscious Bias Training that Works – and includes not only raising awareness of individuals’ biases but also changing their behaviour and tracking progress. They also underscore the importance of organisations’ commitment to addressing unconscious bias through measurement, leadership involvement and effective policies.”
Research on hybrid working from EY Lane4 highlights that perceptions of fairness are critical to performance.
“If employees feel they are treated differently based on their working patterns, engagement and trust may decline,” says Flynn. “The most effective safeguards against proximity bias are robust performance management frameworks that make decisions outcome focused and evidence based.”
