New data shows that people who log on from home five days a week get fewer promotions and less mentoring than people in the office

For a while, remote workers seemed to have it all: elastic waistbands, no commute, better concentration and the ability to pop in laundry loads between calls.

New data, though, shows fully remote workers are falling behind in one of the most-prized and important aspects of a career: getting promoted.

Over the past year, remote workers were promoted 31% less frequently than people who worked in an office, either full-time or on a hybrid basis, according to an analysis of two million white-collar workers by employment-data provider Live Data Technologies. Remote workers also get less mentorship, a gap that’s especially pronounced for women, research shows.

Of employees working full time in an office or on a hybrid basis, 5.6% received promotions at their organization in 2023, according to Live Data Technologies, versus 3.9% of those who worked remotely.

“There’s some proximity bias going on,” says Nick Bloom, an economist at Stanford University who studies remote work and management practices, of the challenges facing remote workers. “I literally call it discrimination.”

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  • @[email protected]
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    3010 months ago

    Not all of us want promotions or ‘mentoring’. Some of us just want to do our job and log off with a minimum of crap.

    • @QuarterSwede
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      810 months ago

      But everyone wants more money and promotions/switching companies are the quickest way to that end. No one makes a ton by just doing their job.

      • @[email protected]
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        710 months ago

        Fair point. To me my mental health is more important. I make enough for my needs and I am content, and I am very thankful for that and recognize how rare it is. I just love how these articles want to paint everyone with the same brush.

    • @andrewta
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      -610 months ago

      Boss: wish granted. Your required amount of work you must complete per day is a lot higher then it used to be, but you get to work from home.

      • snooggums
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        810 months ago

        The best part about being able to work from home is you aren’t limited to jobs in your local area.