{"id":18449,"date":"2022-10-20T13:23:57","date_gmt":"2022-10-20T10:23:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.talentlms.com\/blog\/?p=18449"},"modified":"2025-01-29T10:11:06","modified_gmt":"2025-01-29T08:11:06","slug":"remote-work-proximity-bias-and-quiet-quitting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.talentlms.com\/blog\/remote-work-proximity-bias-and-quiet-quitting\/","title":{"rendered":"Remote work, proximity bias, and quiet quitting"},"content":{"rendered":"

The pandemic completely reshaped work as we know it. Suddenly, employees began working from home full-time, and companies had to adapt on the fly. Some companies did quite well with the transition, while others struggled.<\/p>\n

And now, as the pandemic is being put behind us, many employers are working hard to get employees back into the office. As of the week following Labor Day, office usage<\/a> in 10 major metro areas was at about 50% of pre-pandemic levels. That’s the highest since the pandemic began.<\/p>\n

However, that still means there are a lot of employees working from home.<\/p>\n

Perhaps not coincidentally, as more and more employers struggle to wrangle their employees back into the office, the “quiet quitting<\/strong>” trend has garnered mainstream attention. For those not yet familiar with the term, it’s the idea that workers will no longer go above and beyond their job description.<\/p>\n

And who are the most likely to “quiet quit?” According to Civic Science<\/a>, it’s remote workers.<\/p>\n

So what’s going on? On one hand, employees, by and large, wish to remain remote, or at least on a hybrid schedule that will keep them at home the majority of the time. Multiple studies have shown that remote workers<\/a> are happier than those in-office full-time.<\/p>\n

If that’s true, why are they more likely to quiet quit? One possible explanation is proximity bias.<\/p>\n

What is proximity bias?<\/h2>\n

While many remote workers are living the dream working from home with no 2-hour commute, no boss looking over their shoulder, and more flexibility in their schedules, the fact is it’s not perfectly easy or equitable for many. All things equal, between an onsite and remote employee, in-office workers may be more likely to be:<\/p>\n