Slows Promotions – Too Much Home Office Hurts Your Career

Employees are less likely to be promoted if they work almost entirely from home. It’s like “out of sight, out of mind”. Because personal experience with a specific person is also important for actions. “Personal experiences are also crucial for the network in a company. And that is important for promotions,” explains behavioral economist Matthias Sutter.

Because if someone works from home alone, it is much more difficult to judge whether he has good leadership qualities or is good at motivating people. “But if you doubt the abilities of such people because you rarely meet them, then that reduces the chance of career development,” says the director of the Max Planck Institute in Bonn. The further up the alphabet the first letter of the applicant’s last name is, the better. According to Sutter, the employer usually invites the applicants in alphabetical order.

Various application stumbling blocks
The sequence effect in interviews, according to which later applicants have slightly better chances, is due to the fact that earlier applicants are not usually rated as well as later applicants. This is because previous applicants often have ‘room for improvement’. Because later on even better people could come. This increases the chance of future applicants. He therefore advises: “If you can influence that, it is a very good idea to move the conversation if possible.”

Applicants are also more likely to be invited for interviews if their name is perceived as local than if the name has an immigrant background. This type of bias occurs worldwide and is one of the reasons why it is better to assess anonymous applications for reasons of equal opportunity. Photos and names have been omitted. Companies could do this without much effort through the HR department and simply pass on the anonymous applications to the department that has a vacancy.

Anonymous selection procedures are fairer
“This eliminates distortions caused by names or images. And employers are more likely to give someone an interview based on their qualifications and experience,” Sutter said.

A Swiss study shows that HR managers positively associate loyalty to the company with loyalty, teamwork, perseverance and reliability. All soft skills that are becoming increasingly important for companies. Therefore, this association increases the likelihood of being invited for an interview if someone has spent the first eight years with one company instead of four different ones. This insight challenges the common notion that young people in the labor market should have as many different experiences as possible at different companies