How to Monitor Remote Employees So They Work Hard and Don't Hate You

Since Covid slammed into old work assumptions like a bowling bowl about five years ago, one thing has remained constant: bitter arguments about remote work. 

Bosses insist working from home is a license to slack off, and some have instituted intrusive monitoring or hated back-to-office orders. Workers dig in their heels to protect cherished gains in work-life balance, grow resentful, and may even rebel in response. A recent Glassdoor survey found a surprising number are considering “revenge quitting” despite looming economic uncertainty.  

In these endless circular arguments about remote work, nobody wins. Everyone is miserable. 

Is there a way out of this bind that won’t totally demoralize one side or the other? Yes, suggests a fascinating recent study by a team of business school professors. Bosses just need to learn a better way to monitor remote employees.