Workforce and culture · Intermediate

Equity in Remote and Hybrid Work

Reduce proximity bias, run hybrid meetings where location does not decide who is heard, build accessible digital work and tell general telework apart from telework as an accommodation.

About 48 minutes, plus optional practice · 4 lessons · Voluntary learning

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Course outline

Proximity bias and fair visibility
Explain proximity bias and the research on passive face time.
12 minutes
Meeting equity in hybrid work
Identify common ways hybrid meetings disadvantage remote participants.
12 minutes
Accessible tools and digital accessibility
Describe the State of Minnesota Digital Accessibility Standard and what it requires.
12 minutes
Telework as policy and telework as accommodation
Describe the main features of the statewide telework policy for executive branch employees.
12 minutes

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What you’ll be able to do

Explore and practice

Explain proximity bias and the research on passive face time.
Identify common ways hybrid meetings disadvantage remote participants.
Describe the State of Minnesota Digital Accessibility Standard and what it requires.
Describe the main features of the statewide telework policy for executive branch employees.

What you can take into your work

Explain the distinction tested in each knowledge check.
Compare the responses to each fictional case and the reasons behind them.
Complete the course job aid for a situation you choose.

Find your agency's ADA coordinator contact and the current statewide telework policy and guidance. If you supervise, check that you apply the general policy the same way to everyone on your team.

Equity in Remote and Hybrid Work: practice guide

A reusable guide for a situation you choose

Reduce proximity bias, run hybrid meetings where location does not decide who is heard, build accessible digital work and tell general telework apart from telework as an accommodation.

Use observable details rather than assigning motives.
Invite perspectives without requiring personal disclosure.
Keep learning separate from individual assessment or personnel decisions.

Find your agency's ADA coordinator contact and the current statewide telework policy and guidance. If you supervise, check that you apply the general policy the same way to everyone on your team.

Fair visibility checklist

Define expected results for each role and review them the same way for everyone.
Track visible assignments and recognition by person each quarter.
Check whether on-site and remote staff are both represented.
Before nominating someone, ask whether results or presence drove the choice.

Hybrid meeting setup

Everyone joins from their own device, or test room audio and video first.
Name a facilitator to watch chat and raised hands.
Invite remote participants to speak first on key questions.
Turn on captions and send accessible materials in advance.
Write decisions down and share any decisions made after the meeting.

When telework or tool access comes up

Apply the general telework policy consistently to everyone.
Treat a disability-related request as a possible accommodation even without those words.
Route accommodation requests to the ADA coordinator or HR and do not ask for a diagnosis.
Keep medical information confidential.
Report inaccessible shared tools to agency accessibility or MNIT resources.

Try the guide and revisit it

Find your agency's ADA coordinator contact and the current statewide telework policy and guidance. If you supervise, check that you apply the general policy the same way to everyone on your team.
If someone on your team asked you for a change in where or when they work, what words would signal that it might be an accommodation request? What would you do first?

Participation and course completion in this program do not count toward DHS-required training credits unless management, a director, or DHS leadership expressly approves an exception.

Sources and further reading

Minnesota Management and Budget — HR/LR Policy 1422, Telework (revised 2025)
Supports that telework is a discretionary arrangement, the monthly limit on telework days for most employees, the acknowledgment form and that an ADA accommodation acknowledgment can modify the policy. Policy changes, so check the current version.
Minnesota Management and Budget — HR/LR Memo 2025-1, Telework Frequently Asked Questions
Supports that employees may request telework beyond the policy limit as a reasonable accommodation through supervisors, HR or the ADA coordinator, and details on scheduling.
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission — Work at Home/Telework as a Reasonable Accommodation
Supports that telework may be a reasonable accommodation even where the employer does not otherwise allow it, that the employer may choose among effective accommodations and need not remove essential functions.
Job Accommodation Network — Telework
Supports that telework as an accommodation should match what the disability requires and that the employer may choose any effective accommodation. JAN provides guidance, not legal determinations.
Bloom, Han and Liang — Hybrid working from home improves retention without damaging performance, Nature (2024)
Supports the randomized trial findings on retention, performance reviews, promotions and manager perceptions. The study covers one company in China and may not generalize.
Elsbach, Cable and Sherman — How passive face time affects perceptions of employees, Human Relations (2010), UC eScholarship
Supports the finding that being seen at work leads observers to spontaneously judge employees as dependable or committed. Based on interviews and an experiment with office workers.
Minnesota IT Services — Accessibility Policies and Standards
Supports that the State of Minnesota Digital Accessibility Standard incorporates WCAG 2.1 level AA and that Minnesota law can make agencies liable for inaccessible records and course materials.

All research and sources across the program

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Course outline

Proximity bias and fair visibility

Explain proximity bias and the research on passive face time.

12 minutes

Meeting equity in hybrid work

Identify common ways hybrid meetings disadvantage remote participants.

12 minutes

Accessible tools and digital accessibility

Describe the State of Minnesota Digital Accessibility Standard and what it requires.

12 minutes

Telework as policy and telework as accommodation

Describe the main features of the statewide telework policy for executive branch employees.

12 minutes

Sources and further reading

Minnesota Management and Budget — HR/LR Policy 1422, Telework (revised 2025)

Supports that telework is a discretionary arrangement, the monthly limit on telework days for most employees, the acknowledgment form and that an ADA accommodation acknowledgment can modify the policy. Policy changes, so check the current version.

Minnesota Management and Budget — HR/LR Memo 2025-1, Telework Frequently Asked Questions

Supports that employees may request telework beyond the policy limit as a reasonable accommodation through supervisors, HR or the ADA coordinator, and details on scheduling.

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission — Work at Home/Telework as a Reasonable Accommodation

Supports that telework may be a reasonable accommodation even where the employer does not otherwise allow it, that the employer may choose among effective accommodations and need not remove essential functions.

Job Accommodation Network — Telework

Supports that telework as an accommodation should match what the disability requires and that the employer may choose any effective accommodation. JAN provides guidance, not legal determinations.

Bloom, Han and Liang — Hybrid working from home improves retention without damaging performance, Nature (2024)

Supports the randomized trial findings on retention, performance reviews, promotions and manager perceptions. The study covers one company in China and may not generalize.

Elsbach, Cable and Sherman — How passive face time affects perceptions of employees, Human Relations (2010), UC eScholarship

Supports the finding that being seen at work leads observers to spontaneously judge employees as dependable or committed. Based on interviews and an experiment with office workers.

Minnesota IT Services — Accessibility Policies and Standards

Supports that the State of Minnesota Digital Accessibility Standard incorporates WCAG 2.1 level AA and that Minnesota law can make agencies liable for inaccessible records and course materials.