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The nefarious new way companies are discriminating against remote workers: time-zone prejudice

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The nefarious new way companies are discriminating against remote workers: time-zone prejudice

Business Insider UK,

5 min read
4 take-aways
Audio & text

What's inside?

Time-zone bias is real for remote workers. Managers must be vigilant to avoid litigation and attrition.

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Editorial Rating

8

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Recommendation

With the explosive growth in the number of people working remotely during the pandemic, time-zone bias has become a hot issue for some employees. Remote workers report that managers expect them to be responsive around the clock and then overlook them for promotions. Time-zone bias is mostly unintentional from the managerial side, but it can lead to lawsuits against companies and the resignation of high-value talent. Laura Wheatman Hill, writing in the Business Insider, advises managers about what they can do to avoid time-zone bias and its negative consequences.

Summary

Remote employees feel time-zone bias acutely, and companies often fail to provide them with managerial and tech support. 

The trend toward remote work has been going on for some time, but the pandemic dramatically increased the number of people working from home. Previously, hiring remote employees internationally or across different regions of the United States was mostly a prerogative of larger companies with established infrastructure and enough personnel to manage workers in various locations.

Nowadays, many small businesses have switched to remote work, but they may lack the managerial and tech support to accommodate workers in different time zones. This might be one of the major factors leading remote employees to report that time-zone bias is becoming a more prevalent issue.

Remote employees feel that they work around the clock, but managers still overlook them for raises and promotions.

Remote workers feel they have to be online and responsive around the clock, seven...

About the Author

Laura Wheatman Hill is an Oregon-based freelance writer.

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    C. S. 2 years ago
    It is pretty obvious that if you decide to become a remote worker, you will experience "time-zone prejudice" based on the reality that your relationships with your coworkers and management will be weaker than if you interacted with them on a personal basis regularly.

    My answer to the problem: "don't take a position where you are a remote worker." Life isn't fair. Deal with it.