As more companies embrace hybrid work models—featuring a mix of in-person and remote work—many people managers and HR departments are dealing with the challenges of proximity bias, which is the tendency for people in positions of authority to show favoritism or give preferential treatment to employees who are closest to them physically.
In a survey of 10,000 white-collar workers conducted by Future Forum, a research consortium created by Slack, more than 4 out of 10 executives ranked the potential inequities between remote and in-office employees as their No. 1 concern. Even so, the survey found that bosses are twice as likely to prefer working in the office at least three days a week—and want their employees to be there, too.
