Remote work is still 'frustrating and disorienting' for bosses, economist says—their No. 1 problem with it is how difficult it is to observe and monitor employees

return2ozma@lemmy.world to News@lemmy.world – 877 points –
Remote work is still 'frustrating and disorienting' for bosses, economist says—their No. 1 problem with it
cnbc.com
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I’ve been working remotely for almost a decade now and have been a manager for 6 of those years and I do the following:

Is [EMPLOYEE]’s work getting done? If yes then do nothing aside from thanking them. If no then talk to employee and/or start the corrective action process.

I have neither the need nor the desire to hover over them. They’re grown ass adults.

A few issues with your method for the average manager.

What work exactly is the employee doing?

How do you know if it is being done correctly?

The average manager has no clue on either of these questions.

These managers rely on wandering around the office judging productiviy by who looks busy and holding constant meetings to hear themselves talk.

The average manager has no clue on either of these questions.

But being in person wouldn't help.

I managed a support team of about 30 people at a fully remote company. I'd check their numbers of closed cases, review cases when customer feedback was bad, and take into account any other side projects they were working on.

Praise when people did good and have one on one talks with people that were falling behind to see what the cause was so we could work on it. It's not that hard.

I have a pretty similar work flow. I stay on top of my crap, they stay on top of theirs and everyone’s happy. As long as they’re doing what they’re supposed to I don’t give a damn if they’re also taking some down time during their day.