Ryan FowlerResearch involving 937 UK managers has revealed a bias against remote and hybrid workers regarding career advancement opportunities. According to the University of Warsaw researchers, employees working entirely from home are 11% less likely to be promoted and 9% less likely to receive a pay rise compared to those who work full-time in an office. Hybrid workers are 7% less likely to be promoted or receive pay rises than their office-based counterparts.
The gender impact of these biases was significant, with male remote workers being 15% less likely to be promoted and 10% less likely to get a pay increase than men working solely in the office. For women, the likelihood of not being promoted was 7%, and receiving no pay rise was 8%.
Agnieszka Kasperska, a researcher from the study, stated at the British Sociological Association’s online annual conference, “Individuals working from home still encounter career penalties, irrespective of the widespread adoption of this mode of work. Both male and female remote workers experience career penalties, but they are substantially larger for men.”
The study also noted that in high-demand work cultures, the penalty for remote work was more severe, with male home workers 30% less likely to be promoted and 19% less likely to receive a pay rise. For women, the figures were 15% for promotions and 19% for pay rises. Kasperska added, “In more supportive organisations, where there is less pressure and long working days and where family-friendly policies exist, we don’t find such negative consequences of remote work.”
