Showing up to the office is still the easiest way to impress your boss. Here's how hybrid workers can get ahead anyway.

By Hannah Erin Lang

Four years after many office employees embraced remote work as a permanent piece of their schedule, experts say it's still easier to be a star employee in person

You can skip the commute, leave your slacks in your drawer and fold laundry during that meeting that could have been an email. For the millions of workers who still have the option to work from home a few times a week, why wouldn't one take full advantage?

But you might want to start dragging yourself into the office a little more often - particularly if you're looking to climb the corporate ladder.

Four years after remote work went mainstream, many employees now have work-from-home days permanently built into their schedules. Of all the full-time employees in the U.S. with remote-capable jobs, a little more than half (52%) still work a hybrid schedule, according to Gallup.

However, a little face time still goes a long way in the workplace, according to experts. Blame it on human nature, they say - and how few managers actually excel at objectively evaluating performance without in-person proof of hard work.

Given that persistent trend - alongside emerging evidence that remote workers might be more at risk when it comes to job cuts or other changes - career-minded employees may want to scan their badges a little more often.

"If you are a hybrid worker and you're interested in your career, should you be there more often? Yes," said Peter Cappelli, a management professor and director of the Center for Human Resources at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School. "You pay a price. ... But that's the way the cookie seems to crumble."

Out of sight, out of mind

There's a good chance that many managers and executives have held on to a lingering bias - probably an unconscious one - in favor of workers who come into the office.

We're just more likely to notice a colleague or subordinate's hard work or long hours when we see or sit next to them for much of the work day, Cappelli said.

Others have used the term "proximity bias" to describe this phenomenon of managers giving preferential treatment to workers who are physically closer to them.

The prevalence of the bias speaks to just how subjective the assessment of our work can be, Cappelli said.

"Many who are not close observers to office work may think that assessments of performance are highly structured," he said. In fact, those assessments are often much "weaker, sloppier and more informal" than we'd expect.

"The info we have is often much more contextual: I saw you do something; it sticks in my mind," Cappelli noted.

That bias, when left unchecked, likely hurts workers from marginalized groups. Remote work can be an important accommodation for many people with disabilities. Along with access to benefits such as child care and paid leave, it can also enable workers with caregiving responsibilities to stay in their jobs without scaling back to part-time work or leaving the workforce entirely.

From the archives (July 2021): 'A lot of people are getting promotions - and most of them are in the office'

There are ways for workplaces to combat proximity bias, Cappelli added, but they're not as widespread or effectively implemented as one might hope.

In the meantime, if you're a hybrid employee looking to get ahead, he still recommends showing up to the office a little more often - at least as frequently as your manager does.

"We can't even get managers to deal with people who are all in the office fairly and equally," he said. "If you're around face to face, things just work easier for you."

How hybrid workers can make the most of office days

There are ways that employees with hybrid schedules can use proximity bias to their benefit, explained Roy Cohen, a career counselor and former Wall Street executive based in New York.

He advised one young client in a new role who was quickly growing exhausted trying to impress her manager with office days that started at 7:30 a.m. and ended late in the evening - while her boss didn't get to work until after 9 a.m. The client could easily shave two hours off her own schedule while still demonstrating her work ethic and commitment to the role, Cohen said.

"It's important to work hard, but you also have to work smart," he said.

When you are working remotely - be it for a couple of days a week or weeks at a time - there are some ways to avoid being out of sight and out of mind, he said.

He suggests structuring your workload during the week to free up time on in-office days for meetings with your boss or colleagues, networking or otherwise "managing political capital."

Overcommunicate, too, he said - not just about questions or hold-ups, but also when things are going well.

"When you work from home or you're working hybrid, you've got to go above and beyond," Cohen said. "There needs to be ongoing and regular self-promotion."

Like Cappelli, Cohen thinks the biggest benefit of in-office days is the chance to build relationships. So he suggested lining up your in-office days with those of the higher-ups, and making sure your WFH schedule is comparable with those of your colleagues.

The boss knows best

There are some cases in which the number of times you show up to your cubicle each week might not matter all that much.

Gleb Tsipursky is a consultant based in Columbus, Ohio, who helps companies implement hybrid-work policies. He argued that the potential benefit of more time spent in the office depends heavily on your company's approach and, more importantly, your boss.

"You really want to be focusing on what your manager says and what they do, because they have a lot of leeway in implementing company policy," he said.

If your manager doesn't clock long hours in the office often, you might have some wiggle room. But if they're staunchly pro-office and you're not, that could spell trouble, Tsipursky said.

Data show fully remote workers are more likely to get passed up for promotions.

While there isn't much evidence showing that hybrid-work policies have the same effect, research has shown there are negative impacts on career advancement for employees whose schedules are out of sync with those of their coworkers. That's according to Nicholas Bloom, a Stanford University economist who studies remote work.

So if everyone on your team comes into the office three days a week, your promotion chances won't be affected by following the same schedule, he said. But let's say you're staying home four or five days a week while your teammates are working a few days or every day on site: That's where your odds of moving up can take a hit.

"Basically, you want to be aligned with your colleagues to avoid a promotion WFH penalty," Bloom told MarketWatch via email.

In lots of cases, it might just make more sense for some employees to spend more time at home, Tsipursky said. After all, gaining back the hour or two you would have spent commuting could make for a more productive workday.

"It really depends on where you do your work best ... and the company," he said. At some companies, rubbing elbows with senior management a few days a week may give you a bigger leg up. At others, hitting KPIs and staying focused during the day is more essential.

But for better or worse, showing up still seems to be a surer bet to stand out as a star employee, said Cappelli, the Wharton professor. It's a fact of work life that doesn't seem set to disappear anytime soon.

"Relationships get built face to face in a way they don't remotely," he said. "It's a harsh truth, but it's a human truth - and that's why it's so hard to change."

Are you going into the office a little more these days? How is your company's work-from-home policy working for you? Let us know at readerstories@marketwatch.com. Our reporters may be in touch to learn more.

-Hannah Erin Lang

This content was created by MarketWatch, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. MarketWatch is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

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04-02-24 1201ET

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