Remote Work Reduced Performance Ratings in Study
Managers should evaluate how proximity biases may influence their own internal review and promotion processes.
Updated on Sept. 28, 2026 in Remote Work
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Research from King's Business School, conducted in the UK and Germany during the second half of 2023, found that remote workers received lower performance ratings than their office-based counterparts. The study utilized 13,000 assessments to measure how homeworking profiles affect perceived professional value.
Why it matters
These findings indicate that employees working remotely three or four days a week face a significant career penalty, suggesting that proximity bias remains a major hurdle for remote workforce management. The impact was observed most acutely among fathers and workers without children.
The study analyzed 13,000 performance assessments from 5,300 employed individuals across the UK and Germany. These figures compare remote workers against office-based staff, though the researchers did not track actual subsequent career promotions.
The players
King's Business School
A research-intensive academic institution that provides business education and investigates management practices.
The details
Researchers asked participants to assess hypothetical employees with varying remote working profiles to isolate the specific impact of location on perceived performance. The results showed that the penalty for homeworking increases as individuals spend more days out of the office, specifically at the three-to-four-day threshold. The study also highlighted that gender and parental status play a role, with fathers and childless workers seeing larger declines in ratings than mothers.
Timeline
Data collection for the research occurred during the second half of 2023.
This research findings report was published on September 28, 2026.
Market Landscape
This research follows a growing pattern of studies identifying proximity bias as a core challenge for hybrid work models. It extends the documented trend where physical presence functions as a proxy for engagement in traditional management hierarchies.
Business owners should audit internal performance review criteria to ensure managers are evaluating output rather than physical presence. In the near term, consider standardizing remote and in-office KPIs to mitigate potential bias against employees with higher work-from-home frequency.
The takeaway
Proximity bias can unintentionally skew performance reviews, potentially causing high-performing remote staff to be overlooked for advancement. Operators should review their management appraisal rubrics to explicitly reward objective results instead of office attendance metrics.
Further reading
For broader insights on managing distributed teams, visit our section on Remote Work.
Source note: This article includes information reported by HRreview | HR News, Opinion & Advice.
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