It's human nature: we respond more positively to people we see. Here's how to ensure all employees feel "seen" and access equal opportunity – no matter where they work:

Imagine you’re a team leader responsible for assigning a major project. Two people on your team are each capable of giving the project the skill and attention it requires. One of these team members works remotely, the other works in a space directly opposite your office door.

Which one is more likely to get the assignment?

If you’re like most humans, the answer will be “the one across from your office” more often than not – and you may not even be conscious of the reason.

What is Proximity Bias?

Proximity bias is the unconscious human tendency to favor people and ideas we find familiar over those we find unfamiliar. We tend to prefer people, things, and concepts we perceive as “closer” to us than those we perceive as “further” from us.

The recent explosion of remote and hybrid work options has also led to an increase in reports by workers who feel left out or overlooked because they don’t spend all their work time in the office. For example, remote workers report experiences like:

• Having their work evaluated less favorably than on-site workers, even though objective performance metrics don’t warrant a poorer rating.
• Watching the most interesting, challenging, or high-profile opportunities go to on-site employees, even if the remote worker has the best skill set for the job.
• Being left out of important meetings or ignored during conference calls.

Proximity bias may be a natural expression of how the human brain organizes and makes sense of the world. Left to its own devices, however, proximity bias can wreak havoc on team culture and productivity – and managers may not even know what is driving their decisions.

How Proximity Bias Leaves Some Workers Out of the Loop

Proximity bias leads managers to favor workers and work situations that result in the manager’s greater familiarity with the worker. The bias may not even depend on whether the manager knows the actual person well – it can activate even in response to visual “familiarity,” such as regularly seeing that worker at a desk or workstation.

When proximity bias is allowed to weigh on decision-making:

Workers are rewarded for being seen, not for being successful.

Managers may give responsibilities, promotions, and recognition to workers because they are familiar to the manager, not because they are succeeding beyond their peers or have the necessary skills to succeed at a given task or role.

Workers who do real work behind the scenes go unnoticed – and may leave.

Workers who meet team goals, hone their skills, or build strong customer relationships, but who don’t do their work in the sight of their managers, may find their accomplishments overlooked. These workers are more likely to take their skills to a competing company.

As remote and hybrid work become more common, unconscious proximity bias threatens to undermine both team culture and team productivity. For managers leading remote teams, challenging proximity bias is a must.

Three Ways to Address Proximity Bias

Proximity bias lurks in the subconscious mind of every human being. It is a fundamental way the human mind organizes the world around it. That’s why it’s important for leaders to acknowledge their own proximity bias and take steps to address it.

Managers and leadership can begin to push back against proximity bias in several ways.

Recognize how proximity bias manifests and combat it with evidence.

For example, many managers assume that workers are more productive in the office than working remotely. Yet this assumption may be driven by proximity bias - the belief that workers are doing better because you are familiar with the sight of those workers working, not because the numbers indicate higher productivity. Look at the data to see how well your teams do in the office or working remotely.

Evaluate performance based on data.

Anonymized evaluation of job candidates has become popular as a means to reduce bias. When employees are evaluated based on anonymized performance reports, leaders can gain a similar view of what workers are actually doing on the job – whether they are in the office or not.

Tailor communication to your team’s locations and needs.

Collaborative work platforms and regular communication can help reduce the effects of proximity bias. They do so by keeping everyone on the team “familiar” with everyone else, even when team members don’t work in the same physical location.

Everyone experiences proximity bias. When this bias is made conscious, managers and leaders can ensure that proximity bias does not drive decision making.

Need help "leveling the playing field" in your organization?

A staffing recruiter can help you:

• Create sound policies to help hiring managers evaluate candidates based on skill, not unintentional biases.
• Align job descriptions, interview questions, and other screening tools to reduce bias and improve results.
• Build a strategic recruiting plan that helps you reach more diverse candidates.
• Stay compliant with laws regarding illegal hiring discrimination.