Remote Work Trust Issues: The Wrong (and Right) Way to Ensure Your Team is Working
One common refrain I hear from remote-first founders when they’re feeling the pressure is:
“How do I know my staff is actually working?”
In the early days, when your team is small and trust is high, this question doesn’t come up. But as the company scales, blind trust becomes harder to sustain. And when business takes a downturn (which it inevitably does at some point), that question turns into full-blown suspicion.
The Costly Mistake One Founder Made
A founder I worked with learned this the hard way. Sales were down, revenue was down, and funding was tight. Suddenly, he started to question whether his team was even working hard enough.
His response? Micromanagement on steroids.
| • He demanded that employees fill out detailed spreadsheets, logging every minute of their day. |
| • He required daily emails outlining exactly what they did, when, and for how long. |
When his team pushed back (because the tracking took more time than the actual work), he assumed they had something to hide. So he doubled down.
| • He installed monitoring software that tracked idle time, took random screenshots, and even had the option to take webcam photos of employees (he didn’t enable that—yet). |
| • He spent money on software to track their every move but had no time to review the reports. |
Within a month, his first long-term employee quit.
Within three months, he had lost half his team—the best half.
Had he continued down this path, he would have ended up like so many struggling remote founders, blaming “lazy remote workers” instead of recognizing the real issue.
The Fix: Measuring What Actually Matters
Instead of tracking time spent working, we shifted the focus to impact.
| • We got crystal clear on the real outcomes expected from each role. Even non-revenue roles had clear KPIs. |
| • We worked with employees to define the key inputs that actually led to success. |
| • We empowered employees to own their outcomes—giving them autonomy to test, iterate, and improve within clear guardrails. |
The result?
A simple, low-effort tracking system that actually improved performance.
A culture of ownership, where employees were accountable to results—not busywork.
Faster growth, better resilience, and a highly engaged team.
Coach’s Corner: What to Do If You’re an Employee Worried About “Looking Busy”
If your remote boss is questioning whether you’re working enough, you don’t need to look busy. You need to prove your impact.
Here’s how:
Get crystal clear on your role’s real goals. If you don’t know what success looks like, how can you achieve it? Clarify with your boss and confirm alignment.
Track your tests and efforts. Data builds trust. Example: “Our cold email open rate was 1%, so I tested new subject lines. Now we’re at 5%. Thoughts?”
Proactively share progress. Don’t wait for your boss to check in. Choose the right format (weekly report, Slack updates, or meetings) and show your work.
The most trusted remote employees aren’t the ones constantly online. They’re the ones who own their results and communicate them effectively.
The Bottom Line
Micromanagement kills productivity and trust. Outcome-driven work fuels growth.
If you’re a founder, resist the knee-jerk reaction to track time. Instead, define impact. Build a system where employees have ownership over their results, and you’ll not only know they’re working – you’ll see the business thrive. And if you’re an employee? Don’t leave your boss guessing. Show them the results, and you’ll build trust that gives you greater freedom and career security in a remote world
Need Help Setting Up the Right Tracking System?
I help remote-first companies create systems that track impact – not hours – so they can scale efficiently without losing their best people. And I help individuals escape or proactively avoid micromanagement by helping them present their value like the A+ players they are.
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