Proximity Bias and Remote Workers
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Workplaces are rife with hidden biases. It’s part and parcel of the way that our human brains work. These biases are shortcuts the brain takes in order to be able to deal with the rapid pace of life.
Many of the biases we looked at over the last two months were present during the recruiting and hiring process. But Proximity Bias is one that not only is present during recruiting and hiring, but also during ongoing management of staff. Proximity Bias is the brain’s tendency to favor people and ideas that are familiar over those that are unfamiliar.
Go With What You Know
This makes so much sense that it doesn’t even seem bad. “Go with what you know” is an attitude people adopt even with such simple things as what they order at a restaurant and where they vacation. They do it with brands and with software. They do it with the purchase of big ticket items like cars and laptops. And they do it with services. They go with what they know rather than try something or someone new. Familiarity speeds along the decision-making process and increases the odds of being happy with the choice. It’s hard to see what’s wrong with that.
In fact, at work, people don’t have time to mull things over; think every decision through carefully. It’s important to assess and move on, fast. This is especially true of leaders and managers. Snap judgments are standard operating procedure for business owners and employees alike. This is especially true when recruiting, hiring and managing people.
But when it comes to managing people, proximity bias can be particularly problematic. That’s even truer now than ever before because of remote work. Proximity bias implies that anyone not working standard hours at HQ would be included less and recognized less than employees that go to the office daily. If proximity bias is on the rise, that would have a negative impact on both workers themselves and on their company which fails to get full value from its employees.
Does Familiarity Actually Make the Heart Grow Fonder?
So, is it true? Is Proximity Bias on the rise in the post-Covid hybrid or full Work-From-Home (WFM) world? It appears so. In Envoy’s latest Workplace Trends Report titled “At Work: How Employees and Executives Really Feel about the Workplace,” they revealed the gaps dividing people at work. Examining the issue of whether Proximity Bias was affecting US-based employees and executives, they conducted a survey of 1,000 employees and 250 executives in the US. The survey showed that while only 42% of employees believed executives noticed their contributions if they work in the office more than working remotely, 96% of the US executives surveyed openly admitted that they were more likely to notice and value the contributions of in-office employees over their remote workers. So 58% of workers were wrong in thinking that their remote work was valued as much as the work done by employees in the office.
Executives do, in fact, notice and favor the work of those who are present in the office over those who are WFH (working-from-home). Even when the quality of the work was exactly the same and the hours worked and work behaviors are on par, the physical location of the work created favoritism in the workplace. And half of remote and hybrid workers had no idea that this was affecting their careers.
What’s more, male executive were even more likely to admit to Proximity Bias over female Executives. As many as 97% of all male executives in the survey said that they admitted they were more likely to notice and value the contributions of in-office employees over remote workers, while just 92% of female executives (still a very high percentage) openly admitted to Proximity Bias. So, in industries that are male-dominated — such as real estate, construction, software, finance, etc – Proximity Bias was nearly absolute.
What Does Proximity Bias Look Like?
How does this particular unconscious bias manifest itself? It takes on a lot of forms. It can affect the evaluation of work. Managers rating the work product of on-site employees might rank it more highly than work produced by remote employees regardless of objective performance metrics. It can also affect how projects are assigned. Interesting projects and development opportunities are offered to those working in the immediate vicinity of senior executives. Those closest to the boss – literally and figuratively — get the most chances to showcase their talents. In the same vein, it affects who gets a “seat at the table.” Work-from-home employees and those at satellite offices are increasingly ‘unintentionally’ excluded from impromptu meetings held at the corporate office and remote attendance is not even considered.
How Does Proximity Bias Affect the Organization?
It is obvious that Proximity Bias basically torpedoes the careers of remote workers. But, if allowed to continue unchecked, it can have unfortunate consequences for the employer as well. It can hurt a company’s future success and hurt the bottom line. Like all other unconscious biases, Proximity Bias is bad for business because it obscures the truth and creates false narratives about what is efficient, effective and excellent. It rewards familiarity above productivity, creativity, innovation and results. It rewards familiarity even though that really does nothing to improve the business or better the bottom line. So, like all other unconscious biases, Proximity Bias should be recognized and rejected because it has a strong negative effect on team morale and performance. It undermines fairness and equality in management and completely obliterates the concept of ‘reward for a job well done’. And failing to tap into the skills and competence of the entire team is clearly a loss to any employer. Here are some ways Proximity Bias undermines business:
- Decreases Staff Engagement – WFH employees become less engaged in their work. That’s not good. Engaged teams are 21% more profitable, 17% more productive and score 10% higher on customer ratings. And, in order to combat Proximity Bias, remote employees might push themselves to work all the time and burn out, increasing turnover.
- Weakens Decision-Making and Vision – Involving only on-site workers in important meetings and decisions leads to sub-optimal business choices that fail to include the full knowledge, experience and perspectives of the full team. While Proximity Bias increases the ease and speed of daily work, it is cancelled out by the long-term risk of setting the business on a less-informed strategic course.
- Lower Workforce Competence and Retention – If ‘presenteeism’ is rewarded over objective performance metrics, an employer is reduced to only hiring within their own geographic area. Sheer logic dictates that the broader the reach, the bigger the pool of quality hires. Turnover is also higher when staff engagement falls, and high-performing staff seek new opportunities.
- Less Workforce Diversity – Since women, international workers and minority workers typically choose to work remotely, rewarding those who are at the office means losing the voice and perspective of unique voices. A less diverse workforce leads to group think, less creativity and innovation, and poorer problem solving.
How Does a Company Prevent Proximity Bias in the Workplace?
1. Discuss the existence of and problems with Proximity Bias. Look for instances where a supervisor is favoring in-person teams over remote ones in the ways listed above.
2. Create a writing-based culture. Use technology to serve as the town square for your organization. All communications and information (including policies, company news and updates) must be shared in writing on a central platform, not just verbally.
3. All Meetings Must Be Remote and have a Written Agenda – All meeting participants should log on with their own laptops for the meeting so remote employees and in-office employees can all clearly see one another and don’t miss any of the body language or nuances of a group discussion. This ensures all employees—regardless of where they work—experience a level playing field.
4. Use a Quantifiable Merit System to Reward Performance – Reviews must be informed by data from multiple people and sources. Measure and analyze an employee’s full impact across all areas using a structured and quantifiable system that includes a 360-degree review.
5. Use Technology to Give Employees a Centralized Feedback Tool – This allows team members to provide praise and high-fives to colleagues. This quantifies positive feedback and amplifies the voices of remote. Management is thus able to see the accomplishments of every team member.
Employers should consider having remote employees as a benefit and balancing force. As a poet once said, “It’s about finding that balance where you have one foot in the familiar, one foot in the unfamiliar”. If you have two feet in the unfamiliar it’s overwhelming. If you have two feet in the familiar then there’s just boredom. It’s about having both. By avoiding Proximity Bias, a workplace can achieve that happy medium.
Quote of the Week
“Familiarity so dulls the edge of perception as to make us least acquainted with things forming part of our daily life.” Julia Ward Howe
© 2022, Keren Peters-Atkinson. All rights reserved.
The post Bias in the Hiring Process, Part 10 first appeared on Monday Mornings with Madison.