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6 ways to curtail the bias towards proximity and increase your workforce

Jul 14, 2022

Unfortunately, one unanticipated result of managing multiple work styles is proximity bias. This is a phenomenon where leadership teams begin to subconsciously favour office workers in favor of remote workers.

In this article we'll learn from  the team responsible for people operations to understand the definition of proximity bias as well as how you can identify and tackle inequities, as well as ways to create an inclusive workplace with videos.

In this article

What exactly is proximity bias?

Proximity bias is the subconscious tendency to value or favor, in-office employees over those working remotely.

As more offices execute the return-to-office strategy, this bias of proximity can manifest in subtle and obvious ways. It could be in the form of management of people evaluating onsite employees higher than their remote counterparts, calling for them to take on specific duties and lead initiatives, or having meetings that focus on employees who are physically present over employees who log in online.

Additionally, it creates an unbalanced team, and one which is not addressed, could increase the disparities that exist in different workforces.

One challenge is that proximity bias develops unconsciously. Research suggests that simply being seen in the workplace can lead to the impression that they are more dedicated and dependable. This perception can lend itself readily to office workers who receive advantages over remote counterparts. But, research suggests knowledge workers and other employees are more productive after pivoting towards remote working.

"If remote team members are not considered as in the same group, then their experience might be more difficult and remote team members could feel as if they are excluded," says Alissa Conway as the company's Vice President of employee Experience. "If we do not think about different working styles and what works for them reduced team member satisfaction may lead to disengagement."

Many companies have opted to leave their physical offices to create fully remote teams, that's not always an alternative. Certain roles are better suited for the office, as well.
Plus, many people doprefer to be social and enjoy the life balance in working in an office. Furthermore, when it comes to organizations that are balancing time zones, it is possible for proximity bias to rear its ugly head even in remote workers when managers plan special promotions and offers, or even events or meetings that accommodate the local time zone.

Confronting potential inequity at work

Despite the initial challenges faced by companies transitioning to a fully remote model during the pandemic and the subsequent outbreak, working from home has shown advantages. Many people, for example people with different capabilities or aren't able to work well in an office setting Working remotely eliminated a set of lifestyle constraints that hindered them from producing the best work results.

"I'm contemplating anyone who could be in the autism spectrum, or similar to me -- the single mother of three girls. If you're not a mom with children, but you may have an issue that may lend itself to you needing to live that is your own, or perhaps you do more effectively one-on-one." states Candace Williams, Director of DEI (Equity and DEI) at . "There are so many things that are visible or not seen. People aren't willing to share their thoughts because they don't feel at ease for whatever reason because of the experiences they have had in their lives."

If this is the case, a sweeping return to an office-based system makes it challenging for employees who fear being viewed as different by their bosses.

It's the reason Williams strongly encourages inclusive practices and policies that welcome team members no matter where they are.

Intersections that can play into a person's desire and ability to go back to office workplace may be family, diverse learning abilities, or unique experience in the workplace that are hard to articulate.

"When I see bias, I pack the layers of it," says Williams.

When managers believe that in-office workers work harder and are more productive, it could be challenging even for workers who work remotely to progress on their path to professional advancement. A non-equal mix of work models can result in remote workers being left out and overlooked with regard to important issues like prominent projects as well as professional growth opportunities.

There are several simple one-to one changes that are suitable for solving the remote/onsite inequalities. As an instance, if an organization is looking to make life more simple for employees returning to work by providing onsite child care as well, it is recommended to consider an allowance for childcare to remote employees.

Six tips for reducing proximity bias at work

Here are just a few suggestions from Candace Williams and Alissa Conway to incorporate into their processes to help team members, regardless of whether they're at work or at home to achieve the highest level of outcomes.

1. Establish social networks that permit people to feel safe

Even though some employees may choose to continue working from the comfort of their home, there are opportunities to engage them socially and without forcing them to leave their comfort areas. A simple way of doing that is creating Slack channels that allow users to communicate with one another via hobbies as well as intersectionalities.

For example, has channels that cater to cooking groups as well as different resource groups for employees, people with hearing impairments as well as other. By encouraging employees to connect to team members that look similar to them or are like them, it creates an increased level of involvement.

2. Employees are asked to survey their employees about what they can do to enhance their lives at work

"When there's a need for the concept of diversity and hybrids many businesses rely on writing the prescriptions for what they believe the people would like in their variety, instead of looking into what the public wants," says Williams.

However, they can more effectively focus on improvement by assessing their team members to find out what makes employees perform the best job they can. The answer is as simple as changing the lighting of the workplace, or as universally beneficial as including a stipend for childcare within their offer packages. Perhaps it's as easy as for example, setting a normal for cameras to be turned off during conference calls as well as allowing meeting that feature pets or children in the background.

3. Embrace asynchronous communication

Leaving a trail of notes as well as videos and other resources which people are able to refer to is beneficial for all. This is not just for remote workers but also in-office employees who benefit from repetition, people in different time zones, those returning from time off or employees who are observing from different teams who need to get caught up quickly.

4. Make sure that the leadership has remote days as well.

Since leadership is the primary factor of how much proximity bias is present in teams, teams not just have to be aware the issue, but they also have be proactive and take action to level the playing field.

Encouraging managers to go remote is a simple, powerful method to ensure that remote workers are seen as heard and are treated equally. Having designated remote days or even a virtual and in-person calendar for the office for management ensures that workflow and communications are taken to move out of the physical isolation of an office and back on the internet.

"It is important for companies to comprehend the advantages and challenges associated with each mode in order to ensure an equal share of equity," says Alissa Conway.

5. Focus on results, not optics

In order to reverse the subconscious prejudices that lead to proximity bias, leadership and management should focus on goals and results, rather than measuring performance by the number of hours spent on chairs.

"When organizations shift their focus to results," says Williams, "they'll be more persuaded to provide options for their employees that support these performance. As an example, instead of assuming that everyone needs to be in-person to attend a meeting, focus on the outcome of this meeting is and offer options to help make the desired outcome a reality."

6. Take a look at your personalized

"Manager effectiveness has always been the most important element in team member's engagement as well as much more crucial in remote settings," says Conway. "It becomes even more crucial with remote environments because everyone has to focus more on communicating with each other to ensure an effective and efficient communications."

In our current work landscape, there are many ways to offer virtual employee participation options.

Conway recommends managers and leaders put in the extra effort to communicate with remote workers. It could be as simple as ensuring each member of the team is regularly invited to 1:1 meetings, leaving space at meetings for remote employees to speak up, and reaching out to specific employees to meet each other on a personal basis.