The remote work panopticon
In a near universal remote work environment, a lot depends on workers being self-starters, managing their own time, and communicating well about their work loads. The biggest hindrance to remote work is collaboration difficulty, so we have to make up the difference with some intentionality.
Some of these skills will be easier than others for certain employees, but all of them are trainable. And over time, they become habits that create a healthy remote work environment.
But the kicker is that they require trust.
Are you going to be an employer that empowers its workers to be successful remote employees? Or are you going to spy on them, paranoid that stepping away from a computer for a few minutes means a drop in productivity?
The latter is draining for everyone involved, and costs you more than you think—in time, money, and ironically, employee productivity.