The Impact of Proximity Bias and Flexible Working on a Woman’s Career

Hybrid working has become one of the biggest workplace trends. Initially implemented to help protect people from catching Covid-19 in the office, it’s now a popular working model that allows employees to work from multiple locations. In a?UK survey, 97% of organisations have said they are planning to implement or have already implemented hybrid working.

There are several employee advantages to not spending 5 days a week working in an office: Reduced travel costs, less time commuting, more work-life balance…

However, opting for flexible work can impact career progression, particularly for women. Part of this is due to proximity bias.

What is proximity bias?

According to the?BBC, proximity bias is “an unconscious – and unwise – tendency to give preferential treatment to those in our immediate vicinity”. The BBC notes that it is an “evolutionary part of our cognitive decision-making process”, used as a “mental shortcut to prioritise what feels safest”.

Employees working in the office on a daily basis will have more face-to-face time with managers and company executives, increasing their social interactions and networking opportunities. Crucially,?research reveals women?tend to prefer remote and flexible working. If more men head to the office, women have a heightened risk of being penalised – potentially losing out on promotions and other opportunities.

The stigma of working from home

Many?women prefer the option?of flexible work because they believe it will ease childcare and caring responsibilities. Interestingly, partnered fathers are almost twice as likely to be refused flexible work requests – employers are more understanding of mothers needing flexibility.

Based on these?statistics?between mothers and fathers, it seems there is still a stigma around hybrid working – specifically, working from home.

For centuries, workers have woken up, put on their “workwear” and headed out to work. Throughout the 19th and 20th century, it was almost exclusively men who went out to the workplace to forge a career, while mothers traditionally stayed behind, running the home and looking after the children. These stereotypical gender roles still exist – the “motherhood penalty” assumes women are less dedicated and less able to maintain their careers compared to men and child-free women. The assumption also remains that men must continue to go to the office.

Hybrid working therefore, negatively impacts a woman’s career due to the old assumption that mothers need more time at home to prioritise family life – while men should continue to advance away from the home. We know from research that some employers have negative beliefs around remote work. This?BBC article, for instance, notes that “office-based colleagues are often perceived to be working harder”.

Click to read the rest of the article where we share how leaders can better support flexible policies.

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