Does reduced visibility in office impact appraisal and career growth

Not many would contest that hybrid or flexible working is the way to go ahead, it’s the new normal and that’s what most employers are offering to retain talent. However, as the job market witnesses the shift from “Great Resignation” during the pandemic to layoffs and hiring freezes/slowdown now, it seems employers are back in the driver’s seat with an upper hand in negotiations.

In the US, data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics found that between August 1, 2022 and September 30, 2022, 72.5 percent of private-sector organizations — up from 60 percent in the July-to-September 2021 period — said they did not have employees working remotely.

This even as multiple other studies indicate that employers are “offering” hybrid working. According to an Employee Benefits Survey report by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans, 74 percent of employers offer hybrid work arrangements.

Here’s an example from Meta – Founder of the Leadership Guide, Cody Dakota Wooten, C.B.C., in a blog wrote, “In the midst of their huge layoffs (common across all of Tech), Meta is also "urging" employees to come back to the office. While not "strictly" necessary, the unspoken implications have been that if you are not in the office you will be part of the next layoff.”

A LinkedIn report in March 2023 claimed hybrid work has raised some questions on whether lack of time in office and reduced visibility will have an impact on one’s career.

Siva Prasad Nanduri, Chief Business Officer, TeamLease Digital, believes WFH or hybrid models can have an influence on career progression and promotion in both positive and muted ways.

“On the plus side, remote work may result in enhanced productivity, improved work-life balance, and the chance to collaborate with more diversified teams from various places. Also, it can give opportunities to employees to learn new skills and get experience in a variety of fields, which can help them accelerate their careers” he told CNBC-TV18.

On the other hand, Nanduri said it can affect long-term effective communication, can lead to a feeling of isolation and result in a case of less visibility for the employees accomplishments.

Sachin Alug, CEO, NLB Services also called it a highly polarising trail, the hybrid or remote work model has left business leaders and stakeholders across the world divided. According to him, while there are many advocates of the hybrid work mode, many leaders, especially in tech domains, have called it out as a fad.

“As observed in the post-pandemic era, the talent market is governed nowadays by skills more than anything else. With the right skill sets by their side, employees operating in alternative work models will always have growth opportunities headed their way,” he said.

Alug, however, added that it also depends on the employers and their capability to accept such work models as equally productive, and profitable as on-site work.

LinkedIn research revealed that 63 percent of Indians feel working remotely has no harmful impact on their careers, however a similar proportion also believes their chances of career growth could be reduced if they didn’t go to office as much.

This could be a potential reason why 71 percent of Indians agree that they feel they have to overcompensate when working from home to show that they are serious about work, it said.