Managers are less likely to promote or award pay rises to staff who work from home full-time or on a hybrid basis, even when performance matches that of office-based employees, according to new academic research.
The study, carried out by researchers at the University of Warsaw, involved nearly 1,000 UK-based managers and found consistent patterns of disadvantage for remote workers.
The research presented managers with fictitious profiles of employees who worked either fully on-site, fully from home or in a hybrid arrangement. When no performance information was given, managers were 11 percent less likely to promote full-time remote workers and 9 percent less likely to award them a pay rise. Those working in hybrid patterns were 8 percent less likely to be considered for promotion and 7 percent less likely to receive a pay rise.
Even when managers were informed that performance levels were equal, remote workers still faced penalties. Full-time remote workers were 10 percent less likely to be promoted and 6.5 percent less likely to receive a pay rise than their office-based counterparts, despite performing equally well.
Perceptions of commitment influencing career outcomes
The findings, published in Work, Employment and Society, a journal of the British Sociological Association, suggest persistent bias in how commitment is perceived when employees are not physically present in the workplace.
The research team, comprising Professor Anna Matysiak, Dr Agnieszka Kasperska and Dr Ewa Cukrowska-Torzewska, examined why remote workers were viewed less favourably. Their analysis found that many managers equated workplace presence with commitment and availability, regardless of actual output.
“Our findings reveal that hybrid workers face poorer career prospects than office-based workers, because managers perceive them as under-performing,” the researchers wrote. “Such practices may be driven by managers’ belief that employees should demonstrate high commitment to work by being present at the workplace and continuously available to employers’ needs.”
They added that workers who seek flexible arrangements, including remote work, are seen as deviating from traditional expectations. This deviation leads to assumptions that such employees are less committed, which in turn affects their access to promotions, salary increases and training opportunities.
When managers were explicitly informed that performance was equal, the bias against hybrid workers largely disappeared. However, the same was not true for full-time remote workers, who remained less likely to receive promotions or salary increases even when their work was known to be of equal quality.
Impact on workplace equity and career progression
The survey data was collected online in the UK between July and December 2022, a period when pandemic lockdowns had ended but remote working remained prevalent. Around 40 percent of UK employees were still working from home for at least part of the week.
The sample included 937 managers responsible for supervising five or more employees in companies with at least 10 staff. Quota sampling ensured representation across company size, geography and manager gender. Participants were asked to assess fictional employee profiles before and after being provided with performance data, allowing the researchers to measure how perceptions shifted.
An exception to the trend was found in the case of hybrid working mothers. These employees did not face reduced prospects for promotion or pay rises when managers were unaware of their performance levels, suggesting that different expectations or biases may be at play for this group.
The researchers concluded that while remote work continues to offer flexibility, it also introduces potential risks for career advancement. Their findings raise questions about how performance is assessed and the extent to which physical presence still shapes decisions in the workplace.
The study suggests that employers may need to revisit performance management frameworks and reconsider how flexible working is evaluated if they wish to ensure equitable treatment for all employees, regardless of location.