With many Canadian workplaces beginning to look forward to the day when employees can return to the office, some are considering hybrid models where those who can work from home do so more often.

But how would that model affect workplace culture, and will those who work remotely be treated differently?

University of Guelph management professor Dr. Sandeep Mishra is concerned that hybrid arrangements could lead to inequality in the workplace.

Mishra is the director Judgments, Decisions, and Health Lab at U of G’s Gordon S. Lang School of Business and Economics and examines how competition, inequality, and dis/advantage affect decision-making and health in and out of the workplace.

He said if some employees work remotely while others go into the office, it could lead to an uneven playing field because those in the office will be more “present” in the minds of their bosses and colleagues.

That could affect everything from who’s chosen for training and network events, to who’s given better assignments, to who gets promoted faster.

“That inequality in ‘face time’ will likely inflame common cognitive biases,” Mishra recently told Business Insider.

Mishra is available for interviews, including the specific implications for parents of young children, women, and racialized workers.

Contact:

Dr. Sandeep Mishra
sandeep.mishra@uoguelph.ca