Is it up to employees to fix the remote-work promotion gap?

Whether remote workers are likely to encounter promotion-related bias depends on the organisation's working model. 

If you're in the minority of people who are working remotely, you're probably at a disadvantage in terms of promotions. But if the majority of people in the organisation are working remotely, then it will be a different story.

Policies are relatively new, and it's unclear to what extent they might close the promotion gap between remote and office workers, but achieving parity will be a long process.

Remote workers can take steps to ensure they remain in contention for promotions.

Remote workers need to be proactive and make themselves as available and visible as possible.

• Workers should schedule more catchups with bosses, be clear about career goals, and draw attention to recent achievements.
• Little things like switching cameras on and participating in Zoom calls will go a long way. 
• Communicate frequently with your manager in a way that builds trust. For example, send your boss a quick message saying, 'here's what I did today. or 'what do you think about this?'

It's in the long-term interest of companies to find a way. Promotional bias towards in-office workers could become an equity issue.

Since hybrid work is forecast to remain the post-pandemic normal, there's growing awareness that companies need to create a supportive environment for remote workers or risk losing that talent to a company that will give them what they want.