Workers described as spending most of the week at home are most likely to receive lower promotion or appointment ratings than otherwise comparable office-based colleagues, says new research from King’s Business School.
The study found evidence of bias against homeworking in both the UK and Germany, despite its rapid growth since the pandemic. Ratings fell when hypothetical workers were described as homeworking, and the penalty became significantly larger at three or four days a week.
Mothers were penalised least, while fathers and workers without children generally experienced larger declines in ratings. Working from home one or two days a week did not significantly reduce ratings for mothers in either country, or for childless women in Germany.
However, the researchers caution that this should not be interpreted as a straightforward advantage for mothers. In the UK, mothers already received relatively low office-based ratings, particularly compared with childless women, so homeworking caused less additional damage. Men, on the other hand, start off at a higher position and therefore have more to lose when working from home.
Professor Heejung Chung, Professor of Work and Employment at King’s Business School said: “Flexible working has often been seen as a mothers’ issue, but this study shows that fathers also need protection from career penalties when they use it. Making flexibility safe and normal for fathers can support mothers’ employment while improving outcomes for fathers and children.”
