A study from the University of Warsaw found that people who work remotely, even part-time, are less likely to get raises and promotions.
The study found a reverse gender gap. Turns out it’s male remote workers who miss out most.
This research was an online discrete choice experiment run in the United Kingdom between July and December 2022. They surveyed 937 UK managers.
Managers were 11% less likely to promote staff who worked entirely from home than those who were office-based.
Hybrid workers were, on average, 7% less likely to be promoted.
Additionally, managers were 15% less likely to promote men who worked entirely from home than those who were completely office-based.
They were 10% less likely to give them a pay increase, as well. Comparatively, the figures for women were 7% and 8%, respectively.
In conclusion, employees who work from home are less likely to be considered for promotions, salary increases, and training.
The pay and promotion penalties for WFH are particularly true for men and childless women, but not mothers.
Plus, employees operating in teams with a higher prevalence of WFH do not experience negative career effects when working remotely.
This is especially true in organizations with very demanding work cultures.
Managers were around 30% less likely to promote and 19% less likely to give a pay rise to men who worked entirely from home. The figures for women were 15% and 19%, respectively.
In organizations with more supportive environments, no penalty to staff for flexible working was found.
