It’s the bane of bosses – but it turns out working from home may be bad for employees too.
The first post-pandemic research into the phenomenon found those who primarily work remotely are less likely to get pay rises and promotions – especially if they’re men.
Scientists presented 37 UK managers with two profiles of hypothetical full-time staff members who worked in the office or at home.
The managers then chose which one they were likely to promote, and also which one they would give a pay rise to.
They were 11 per cent less likely to give a promotion to staff who worked entirely from home and per cent less likely to give them a pay rise.
Hybrid workers – those working partly in the office and partly at home – were 7 per cent less likely to be promoted.
The research, by a team from the University of Warsaw, also unearthed a gender gap – managers were 15 per cent less likely to promote men who worked entirely from home, compared with 7 per cent for women.
The results were particularly stark in organisations with very demanding work cultures. In more supportive environments, no penalty to staff for flexible working was found.
A separate study, by MyFitnessPal, found people consume more calories and take half the number of steps on days they work from home.