Do Commuters Fall Prey to Interview Bias?
6 MINUTE READ
This Harvard Business Review article caught my attention and made me pause. I find interview bias a fascinating topic, something we are all susceptible to both as the interviewer and interviewee - however I had never thought of a “commuter” or someone that had a significant drive to work as a disadvantage?!
According to Researcher, David Phillips he found that applicants applying for low wage jobs that had a commute of more then 6 miles received one third few call backs - but why?
The main reason appears to be that low wage jobs tend to have higher turnover rates as is, add in a commute and this increases, makes sense. Not favourable for an employer. However “picking employees according to distance can drive social inequity” Living in a suburban area often offers lower rent and cost of living however based on this new research this particular bias can reinforce inequity.
As always, knowledge is power, here’s what you need to do next:
Be aware of this bias (you’re reading this article so consider it done!)
Improving employee transportation can help. Can you get a group public transportation rate or provide some kind of shuttle service? While it seems like a big investment the cost of turnover is higher
Partnerships with local government or social services offer support for these type of issues and are worth looking into.
Read David’d fascinating article below.
Forward by Alisha Adams, Co-Founder of Talent Lab