Remote work still makes many managers nervous. Their biggest worry? “How do I know people are actually working?” This concern seems logical at first. But when we look closer, it falls apart.
The truth is that physical presence has never guaranteed productivity. The office creates an illusion of work that can be misleading.
What we’re used to
Think about your typical office day. Someone can look incredibly busy without accomplishing much. They master the art of appearing productive.
Their day might flow like this: Quick chat by the coffee machine. Jump into an unexpected meeting. Check the time - lunch already! A few hallway conversations. Before you know it, the day is over.
What did they actually produce? In a traditional office, there’s often no clear record. No paper trail exists for what someone actually did that day.
A person can talk impressively during status meetings. They can sound productive in one-on-one sessions. But where’s the evidence of actual work completed?
A better approach
There are better ways to handle this. For example, cushion.so uses daily check-ins. These are simple summaries of what each person accomplished that day.
This system makes it incredibly easy to spot patterns. Has someone had a slow day? That’s perfectly fine. We all have them. Is someone consistently struggling to make progress over weeks? That’s a problem that needs addressing.
The real issue
The challenge isn’t remote work itself. The real issue is how you measure productivity.
Many companies track the wrong things. They focus on hours logged or physical presence rather than results delivered.
When you measure actual output and progress, location becomes irrelevant. Good work can happen anywhere. Poor performance can’t hide behind a desk.
Moving forward
Smart companies are shifting their focus. They care less about where work happens and more about what gets done.
The pandemic forced many organizations to adapt. Those that embraced result-based measurement discovered something surprising. Remote work often increased productivity rather than reducing it.
The question shouldn’t be: “How do I know they’re working?” It should be: “How do I measure the work that matters?”
When you solve that problem, the remote versus office debate becomes much less important.
Cushion.so helps with this exact challenge. It gives teams a way to track actual progress without constant interruptions. The focus shifts from looking busy to getting things done.
And that’s what really matters, whether your team is remote, hybrid, or all in one place.