People who work from home are less likely to get pay rises and promotions – especially men, study finds

People who work from home are less likely to get pay rises and promotions, especially men, a study suggests.

The first post-pandemic research project into the work-from-home phenomenon has found that those who indulge in luxury may face professional sanctions.

A team from the University of Warsaw presented 937 managers employed in various companies and industries in the United Kingdom with two profiles of hypothetical full-time staff members who worked five days in the office a week, five days at home or three days in the office. office. office and two at home.

Managers then chose which one they would promote and also which one they would give a pay raise to.

The analysis revealed that managers were 11 percent less likely to give a promotion to staff who worked completely from home than those who worked completely in the office.

Hybrid workers (those who work part in the office and part at home) were on average seven percent less likely to be promoted.

Managers were also nine percent less likely to give a pay rise to staff working entirely from home than those working entirely in the office, and seven percent less likely to give one to hybrid workers.

The research also uncovered a gender gap: Managers were 15 percent less likely to promote men who worked entirely from home than those who worked entirely in the office, and 10 percent less likely to give a raise. wage.

The corresponding figures for women were seven and eight percent, respectively.

Author Agnieszka Kasperska told the British Sociological Association’s annual online conference: “The recent Covid-19 pandemic has prompted a substantial shift towards working from home.

‘However, our findings indicate that people who work from home still face professional disadvantages, regardless of the widespread adoption of this mode of working.

“Both male and female remote workers suffer professional penalties, but they are substantially greater for men.”

The results also showed that in organizations with highly demanding work cultures, managers were about 30 percent less likely to promote and 19 percent less likely to give a pay increase to men who worked completely from home than to the men who worked only in the office. .

The corresponding figures for women were 15 percent and 19 percent, respectively. In organizations with more supportive environments, no penalty for staff for flexible working was found.

“In more supportive organizations, where there is less pressure and long working hours and where family-friendly policies are in place, we do not find such negative consequences of remote work,” Ms Kasperska added.

An independent study recently found that people consume significantly more calories and take fewer steps on days they work from home.

The study showed that people consume an average of 2,752 calories when working remotely, compared to 1,961 during a typical day in the office.

The research, carried out by MyFitnessPal, also found that while people walk an average of 8,087 steps on days they go to the office, this is almost halved on a ‘work from home’ day.