Hybrid working models are the new normal. They are considered modern, agile and seemingly inclusive. But behind the façade of flexibility and freedom lurks a critical question: does hybrid working unintentionally promote new forms of inequality? While many companies are happy about increased productivity, important aspects such as equal opportunities, visibility and fairness could be jeopardized.
Flexibility as a promise – but for whom?
Hybrid working has rapidly established itself since the pandemic. Employees can decide for themselves whether they want to work from the office, from home or on the move, which is a real benefit for many. Numerous studies prove this: Flexibility not only increases productivity, but also employee satisfaction and emotional loyalty to the company.
However, not everyone is benefiting from this change to the same extent. In many organizations, there is a new, often unnoticed power imbalance between physical presence in the office and team members working remotely. Those who are regularly on site are more likely to be seen, heard more often and remain more visible to managers. Many people who mainly work remotely lack this visibility when working from home. This has concrete consequences for their ability to exert influence, their sense of belonging and, not least, their career opportunities.
This makes it clear that hybrid work is only progress for everyone if companies take targeted countermeasures and see the disadvantages of remote work not as collateral damage, but as a challenge that can be shaped.
Invisible in the Zoom call – visible in the office
Who gets seen, gets promoted? The new face of inequality
The path to promotion is often not just about performance, but about visibility. Presence in the office means access to:
- Spontaneous discussions with the management level
- Quick decisions and informal coordination
- Social capital: networks, trust, influence
Employees working from home, on the other hand, are physically absent and run the risk of being mentally blanked out. Even in video calls, it is more difficult to get involved or pick up on nuances.
As a result, those who mainly work remotely often find it harder to be heard and therefore harder to move up the career ladder.
Isolation instead of integration
- 23% feel isolated when working from home.
- Half say: Fewer friendships in the company.
- 51% of managers feel alienated from their team.
- According to 31% of respondents, team communication is suffering.
Source: Bath, J., Brauchle, S. Effectiveness of mandatory office quotas in hybrid working models.Z. Arb. Wiss. 79, 234-249 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41449-025-00459-4
The silent split in the company
In hybrid meetings, 37% feel excluded.
- Asynchronous communication is on the rise – but also brings risks.
- Around 40% do not feel well informed when working from home.
Source: Bath, J., Brauchle, S. Effectiveness of mandatory office quotas in hybrid working models.Z. Arb. Wiss. 79, 234-249 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41449-025-00459-4
The path to more fairness in hybrid structures
Hybrid work must be shaped
The good news first: hybrid working can be absolutely fair, productive and sustainable if companies don’t leave it to chance, but manage it strategically and consciously. For hybrid models to work in the long term, it takes more than home office arrangements and video calls. What is really needed is a systematic approach that takes both technical and cultural dimensions into account.
✅ Rethinking leadership: hybrid teams need new leadership skills
One of the biggest challenges in hybrid working models is managing virtual teams. Traditional management styles often fall short here. Leadership in hybrid teams means promoting employees equally, actively involving them and supporting them individually, regardless of where they work. Trusting leadership at a distance, regular feedback and empathetic communication are crucial for success.
✅ Enable targeted visibility in the home office
A key problem in many companies is the lack of visibility in the home office. Those who work remotely often have less access to informal discussions and spontaneous decision-making processes, which can hinder careers in the long term. Transparent feedback cycles, traceable performance measurement and digital project tools are essential to avoid these remote work disadvantages. This actively promotes equal opportunities in the home office.
✅ Actively shaping digital corporate culture
Hybrid working models are not only changing the workplace, but also the way we work together. Traditional forms of team culture do not automatically work digitally. New, creative formats are therefore needed to promote digital corporate culture and team cohesion, such as virtual coffee breaks, joint retrospectives or collaborative whiteboards. These formats not only strengthen collaboration, but also create emotional closeness despite physical distance.
✅ HR digitization as the basis for fair structures
HR digitalization in the context of hybrid work is the key to standardizing processes, systematically supporting employees and making decisions transparent. From digital onboarding and automated absence planning to smart resource management: the right tools enable all team members to be treated equally, whether in the office or working from home.
✅ Standardized processes for more fairness and transparency
To prevent inequality through hybrid work, companies need to review their structures. Meetings, information flows and decision-making channels must not only benefit employees who are physically present. Uniform standards and digital documentation ensure that no knowledge is lost and no one is left out.
Free white paper for HR professionals: How to introduce hybrid work fairly
Do you want to ensure that hybrid working in your company creates opportunities, not inequality?
Then download our free white paper from the dataglobal Group now!
Specially developed for HR managers, our guide provides practical examples:
- How to plan hybrid work strategically and organize it fairly
- How to guide employees through change and uncertainty
- What role communication, leadership and corporate culture play
- How modern tools such as vysoft’s resource management can effectively support your HR processes
This white paper is a must-read for all HR managers who want to actively shape the future of work
Conclusion: Hybrid working needs more than WLAN and Zoom
Hybrid work is far more than just a workplace trend, it is a genuine cultural change. However, this change brings with it challenges that companies need to actively address. Without a clear strategy, structural disadvantages quickly arise, especially for employees working remotely.
Remote work disadvantages such as a lack of visibility, a lack of informal exchange or more difficult access to decision-making processes are real and should not be underestimated. Visibility in the home office remains one of the key issues when it comes to fair performance appraisals and career opportunities. Those who are not present are often unconsciously less noticed, which is a critical insight for any modern management and corporate culture.
It is therefore essential to specifically promote equal opportunities when working from home. This starts with clear communication, transparent decision-making processes and digitally supported HR processes. This is precisely where hybrid working models come into play in the HR context: they must be designed in such a way that all employees have the same development opportunities and chances to participate, regardless of whether they are working on site or remotely.
Companies that want to successfully establish hybrid working cannot avoid HR digitalization for hybrid working. Tools such as vysoft’s resource management, structured onboarding processes and virtual feedback systems help to manage hybrid teams efficiently and integrate them fairly. Leadership in hybrid teams requires new skills: Empathy, digital communication skills and the ability to create closeness despite distance.
If hybrid working is implemented correctly, it can be a real lever for greater flexibility, productivity and employee satisfaction. However, if it is left to chance, there is a long-term risk of inequality through hybrid work, demotivation and a silent division of the workforce. Now is the time to set the right course for a fair, digital and sustainable world of work.