The proximity dividend
Visibility as an ingredient to early-career momentum.
Early in your career, visibility matters.
I’ve worked in corporate offices, newsrooms and a startup. In each setting, my biggest leaps came not from pitching myself but from being in the room.
Thinking through problems, volunteering for assignments, asking smart and dumb questions.
Doing the basics in person made me visible to the right people. They remembered me when opportunities opened up.
Post-pandemic, this view has become surprisingly polarizing.
Two of my most viral LinkedIn posts this year argued for in-person work over remote. They both drew fierce pushback.
I’ve since landed on an idea I call the proximity dividend.
When you show up physically, you create surface area for familiarity. You make your process legible. Managers gain a sense of who you are, not just the work you produce.
That human texture makes it easier for colleagues to trust you. It’s pattern recognition.
The proximity dividend isn’t about office politics or hobnobbing. It’s the natural upside of being known by the people whose judgement shapes your path.
Remote work, by design, compresses these dynamics. You can still do great work from home, but staying visible is harder when you’re physically absent.
People may know your name, but not your rhythm or instincts.
That subtle gap makes a difference when it comes time to advocate for or promote someone.
And this isn’t the fault of remote employees. Distance simply mutes personalities, like turning them 2-D.
For early-career professionals still figuring out their identity at work, missing out on the proximity dividend is costly.
As I’ve written before, I do believe remote work creates opportunities for parents of young children, disabled people, and those outside major cities. The flexibility is real and valuable.
But for young people focused on growth rather than maintenance, being in the room is a cheat code. You unlock the proximity dividend.
Nothing guarantees success. But it’s easier to be lucky when the right people come to count on you.
And at the start of a career, a little luck can change everything.
Phil Rosen
Co-founder & Editor-in-Chief of Opening Bell Daily
For more on remote work and careers:
A wonderful article. I feel as if you could write another piece off the last sentence alone!