Biases in the remote-working world

Modern remote work and large collaborative online projects are both a blessing and a challenge. On one hand, they enable flexible working arrangements and bring together global expertise. On the other hand, the physical distance among team members makes us more susceptible to behavioral biases.

In remote workplaces, we are often overwhelmed by shared information and struggle to empathize with distant colleagues’ views and arguments. To manage this, we unconsciously rely on heuristics, i.e., mental shortcuts that simplify complex decisions. While helpful, these shortcuts can increase misunderstandings within teams and lead to suboptimal group decisions. Below are four common biases and strategies to mitigate their impact on remote-working teams.

1. Availability bias

When forming expectations about likelihoods, we often over-rely on easily accessible information – things we vividly remember, events that occurred recently, or emotionally impactful experiences. In remote settings, where shared experiences and routines are limited, this bias can loom larger. As a result, teams may place too much emphasis on readily available scenarios while systematically underestimating less vivid ones.

What can we do?

Broaden your perspective: Consider what probabilities or scenarios someone with a different background might envision. This helps refine spontaneous assumptions.
Separate likelihood from impact: Evaluate the probability of a risk separately from the harm it could cause. You may find that the actual likelihood is smaller than it initially seemed.

2. Fundamental attribution error

We tend to over-attribute others’ actions to their personality while underestimating the role of external factors on their decisions. In remote work, the lack of informal interactions and casual conversations makes it harder to understand the external influences on colleagues’ decisions or anticipate their emotional states. This can lead to frictions and misunderstandings within teams

What can we do?

Change your perspective: Before jumping to conclusions, put yourself in your colleague’s shoes. Given the same circumstances, would you have acted differently at a particular moment of decision making?
Practice empathy: Take critical feedback as an opportunity to do better next time rather than taking it as personal criticism. Plan proactively for personal responsibilities, such as family time, social or medical obligations, and align off desk time with your remote co-workers to avoid misunderstanding.

3. Affinity bias

Also known as the similarity bias, this bias refers to our inclination to gravitate toward people like ourselves in appearance, beliefs, interests and backgrounds. We might avoid or even dislike people who are different from us. The affinity bias is known to negatively affect recruitment decisions. In remote environments, this bias can lead to the formation of cliques and exacerbate cultural differences between teammates.

What can we do?

Find common ground: When meeting new teammates, invest time in discovering shared experiences or interests. For example, arrange short, recurrent coffee touchpoints with colleagues from “the other culture” just to discuss each other’s news.
Institutionalize cultural exchange: Organize intercultural onboarding sessions, retreats, and team-building activities to foster mutual understanding and empathy.
Promote diversity: As a manager, embrace the global recruitment opportunities remote work provides. Don’t limit your and your team’s performance by surrounding you with people who have the same background and experiences either in shared projects or in the process of recruiting new colleagues.

4. Present bias

We are often inconsistent in evaluating returns on investment. When thinking about the near future, we settle for smaller returns than when thinking about the far future. In remote work, this can manifest as procrastination, with attention diverted to more enjoyable activities – such as watching TV or online shopping – at the expense of timely submissions of high-quality outputs.

What can we do?

Set self-imposed deadlines: Commit to self-imposed deadlines by informing your managers or co-workers about submission dates (ahead of the end deadline).
Break tasks into smaller steps: Completing smaller milestones allows your progress to be acknowledged, providing immediate rewards that keep you motivated.
Maintain focus on long-term goals: To ensure that such rewards do not undermine long-term objectives you can display a desired end result in an online canvas visible at all times by everyone.

In today’s interconnected and fast-paced world, recognizing and addressing biases is critical to fostering inclusive and productive remote work environments.

However, it is important to bear in mind that the four behavioral biases do not capture all the root causes of work-related misalignments but rather serve as a starting point for understanding the challenges of remote collaboration.

Sources and further reading material

Ariely, D., & Wertenbroch, K. (2002). Procrastination, deadlines, and performance: Self-control by precommitment. Psychological Science, 13(3), 219–224.Kahneman, D. (2015). Thinking, fast and slow. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Kahneman, D., & Tversky, A. (1979). Prospect theory: An analysis of decision under risk. Econometrica, 47(2), 263–291.
Mischel, W., & Ebbesen, E. B. (1970). Attention in delay of gratification. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 16(2), 329–337.
Staw, B. M. (1976). Knee-deep in the big muddy: A study of escalating commitment to a chosen course of action. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 16(1), 27–44.
Zschirnt, E., & Ruedin, D. (2016). Ethnic discrimination in hiring decisions: A meta-analysis of correspondence tests 1990–2015. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 42(7), 1115–1134.

Stefanos Stasinopoulos

Stefanos Stasinopoulos is a Senior Consultant for Behavioral Public Policy at Behavia. He holds a MSc in Behavioral Science from the Erasmus University of Rotterdam, Netherlands, and has more than 8 years of experience in Human Resources Management and experimentation in the private sector and the United Nations.

He specializes on empowering HR practices, online experimental design, hypotheses development, qualitative analysis, and research scoping. Besides his work at Behavia, Stefanos is an active member of the Nudge Unit Greece initiative.