Proximity and promotion
In a randomised experiment, employees assigned to work from home were more productive and more satisfied, and were promoted less often than office-based colleagues doing the same job. A later randomised trial of a hybrid arrangement found no promotion penalty and better retention.
Evidence grade: research Peer-reviewed or large-sample empirical work supports it.
Use it when
Evidence that the default gradient is real, costs the organisation talent, and is a property of design and not a law.
Where it stops working
These are two studies in specific settings. Full-time home working carried a promotion penalty and the visible hybrid design did not, so the effect depends on how the arrangement is designed.
Where the standard uses it
- CC-3Inclusive practices and equitable opportunity distributionWho gets the stretch work, the visibility, and the benefit of the doubt.
Sources
- Nicholas Bloom, James Liang, John Roberts and Zhichun Jenny Ying. Does Working from Home Work? Evidence from a Chinese Experiment. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 130(1), 165–218, 2015. In the bibliography
- Nicholas Bloom, Ruobing Han and James Liang. Hybrid Working from Home Improves Retention without Damaging Performance. Nature, 630, 920–925, 2024. In the bibliography
Used alongside it
- Diversity and decision quality contested
- Glue work practice
- Merger integration with cultural intent practice
- Opportunity and attention as scarce resources practice
Cite this model
Chicago, BibTeX and licence →Engineering Management Academy. (2026). Proximity and promotion. In Engineering Management Academy Body of Knowledge (Version 3.1, TEC.proximity-and-promotion). https://www.engineeringmanagement.academy/body-of-knowledge/techniques/proximity-and-promotion