Proximity Bias in a Hybrid Work Environment
Although the concept of proximity bias may be new to some companies, it’s been very real for decades. Having been in the workforce for a minute, I had the opportunity to manage teams spread both nationally and internationally in the “pre-Zoom” era. Managing remote teams historically was not related to working from home, although that has always been a small part of the mix. It was typically remote employees in key man suites or just other corporate facilities. These were employees you rarely interacted with face-to-face.
I see managers now facing a somewhat steeper challenge, especially as it relates to hybrid work environments. COVID taught us to deal with a rapid conversion to an entirely remote workforce, and companies had varied experiences. Some claimed increases in productivity, some had setbacks. Still others felt productivity was unaffected. Similarly, employees had various experiences – some thrived, others struggled psychologically and emotionally.
HYBRID WORK MODELS
As COVID regulations relaxed, companies focused on making the workplace safe for the eventual return. For example, we at ETHIX360 moved because there was no way to be able to ask employees to come back to work without changing our office environment to allow for safe distancing and other protective measures.
It seems that most businesses have embraced some type of hybrid model. That means many things. It can mean being in the office three days a week and working from home for two. It can mean some employees are permanently at home while others are full time in the office. Still for others it means a flexible schedule with a lot of choices for when and where people work.
Regardless of where your company sits on the spectrum, proximity bias is something that hybrid organizations need to pay attention to. It’s a double-edged sword that can negatively affect some groups while benefitting others.
PROXIMITY BIAS
The definition that most ascribe to proximity bias is “an unconscious – and unwise – tendency to give preferential treatment to those in our immediate vicinity.” The result is a divisive culture, one with haves and have-nots regarding leadership access and interaction.
One of the biggest issues with proximity bias is that remote workers do not have the chance to interact as much with the management team as their on-site peers do. On-site workers have the chance to have impromptu meetings with peers and management and solicit feedback without interrupting.
At-home workers don’t feel that same freedom of access and often complain that they are overlooked for opportunities. On-site workers are present and thus often assigned more tasks. As issues or even crises arise, these workers are physically there and end up carrying the brunt of an increased workload, complaining of their at-home coworkers who avoid these tasks.
Not assigning tasks as frequently to the “unseen” at-home workers also raises dissension in who works harder. The at-work employees often feel a greater effort with commutes and preparation and feel that demonstrates a stronger commitment to the company.
SYSTEMIC SOLUTIONS
As with addressing most biases, the solution isn’t to avoid the challenge, but to determine the best path to solve those challenges in a systemic way. With proximity bias in the workplace, the solution is not to bring everyone back to the office or to send everyone back home, but rather to build guidelines and operating models that address this challenge and account for distributed teams during both the big decision-making conversations and the small everyday interactions.
The inclusion of remote workers sounds transparent – even “easy.” From personal and second-hand experience, though, I can attest to how hard it can be to eradicate proximity bias from our day-to-day. Having created job opportunities for hybrid or remote workers, we must now adapt our business models and decision-making processes to apply at an individual level, too. The most important step is to be aware of proximity bias and to fairly distribute work, rewards, and opportunities for advancement.
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MEET THE AUTHOR
J Rollins is the co-founder and CEO of ETHIX360. J is a well known leader and innovator who has served on senior leadership teams ranging in responsibility from Chief Revenue Officer, Chief Marketing Officer, SVP of Product Strategy and Chief Operating Officer.
ABOUT ETHIX360
At ETHIX360, our goal is simple: to provide an affordable, flexible, and comprehensive answer to employee communication, policy management, corporate training and case management on issues related to corporate ethics, code of conduct, fraud, bribery, and workplace violence.
