People still talk about remote work as if it were some kind of experiment or something new. Many companies want, if not to bring everyone back to the office, then at least to move toward a hybrid model. But the world has changed, and today people expect more flexibility. Remote or hybrid roles attract roughly 60% of job applications while representing only about 20% of available postings.
Why managers may fail in a remote environment
Nevertheless, businesses still tend to distrust remote work and assume that distance prevents teams from building efficiency and close ties. In fact, remote teams work as well as office teams, if not better. The true efficiency issue lies in management design. If processes are clear and transparent, it becomes entirely possible to work with flexible teams spread across seas and continents as if they were all sitting in the same room.
When the pandemic forced everyone to go remote, very few were prepared. Managers did not know how to lead teams remotely, and employees did not know how to demonstrate their effectiveness. Several years have passed, and remote work has become much more widespread, but the underlying management practices have barely evolved.
Many managers are used to working in environments built around constant control. They want to know where an employee is and exactly what they are doing at this very moment. When people work from home, it is much harder to control, and managers just replicate these practices digitally. That’s where we get endless calls, time-tracking, or even software that monitors screen activity.
In my view, all of this undermines trust. It is impossible to build a truly effective team if its members do not trust each other and assume everyone is trying to trick them. Managers confuse control with leadership, and busyness with effectiveness. They build systems to punish mistakes instead of creating environments where those mistakes become growth opportunities.
Burnout and feeling of loneliness
This puts much more pressure on employees. Fully remote workers show the highest levels of engagement compared to other work arrangements. At the same time, they are less likely to report overall well-being. Only 36% of remote workers say they are “thriving,” compared to 42% of hybrid and on-site employees. Remote workers also report higher levels of stress, loneliness, and emotional burnout. Constant monitoring only intensifies these effects.
It is no surprise that employees’ attitudes toward their workplace have changed. Classical methods of loyalty building are simply ineffective, because people now see each other only through screens during occasional meetings. It is much harder to sustain a feeling of belonging in a digital environment. If they do not feel they are in the right place, the risk of leaving increases significantly. Since people may stay in their homes and maintain their lifestyle, it lowers the barrier to switching jobs. Gallup research shows that 57% of remote workers are
already looking for a new one.
Building Retention 2.0
How can companies respond to this? In my experience, they need to develop new retention practices, a kind of “Retention 2.0.” I often describe it as turning growth chaos into clear career paths. The way I see it, this model must be built on a combination of engagement and wellbeing. This, in turn, requires a rethink of management practices.
The first and most important element is transparency. In remote environments, employees often do not understand what is happening inside the company or how everything actually works. They can’t small-talk by the coffee machine to discuss recent changes. As a result, organisations need to clearly explain how work is structured, how decisions are made, and what the career ladder looks like. Honesty is essential for building trust.
Second, companies must establish a clear communication structure. In an office, many issues are resolved spontaneously through quick conversations and informal clarifications. When communication is limited to one weekly team meeting and occasional chatroom messages, it is more difficult to maintain the same level of interaction.
Organisations need to create an environment where employees feel comfortable speaking openly, sharing ideas, and engaging in discussions without hesitation. Maybe even share memes and discuss what is going on in their lives.
At the same time, remote work inevitably reshapes social connections. Based on my experience, these connections must be supported carefully. Mentorship programs, regular team calls, and informal online gatherings can help. Teams can even organize social activities, such as discussing a film together, to build a stronger sense of connection.
Once communication and goals are clearly defined, companies must rethink workload and boundaries. Many remote employees struggle to separate their work from their personal lives. In globally distributed teams, messages flow continuously across time zones, and the introduction of AI often increases the task flow rather than reducing it. It is easy to see why many employees feel worse in remote settings and experience burnout faster. Help your team understand that their free time is theirs, and they should not be ready to engage at any moment, or even at night.
And, of course, onboarding should not be overlooked. Imagine yourself as a new employee joining a remote team. You are ready to start, but you just sit in front of your computer for hours, or even days, without clear tasks. Your manager has no time to talk with you, colleagues say they cannot help yet, and you have not even received the necessary access.
First impressions matter just as much at work as in-person interactions, and it is easy to imagine how such an experience can feel off from a new hire’s perspective. Assign a mentor, explain processes clearly, and outline a development path to engage people from day one.
Implementing these four pillars — transparency, clear communication, respect for boundaries, and structured onboarding — is the essence of Retention 2.0. However, none of this is possible without a fundamental shift in the manager’s mindset.
The ‘value architect’ role
Ultimately, my experience shows that humaneness and high performance are not at odds with each other; they are the strongest allies in international business. Companies that adopt these practices tend to build more loyal and resilient teams. The same Gallup research I’ve mentioned earlier shows that when employees are both engaged and feel mentally well, the share of those actively looking for a new job drops to 38%.
This proves that modern managers should switch from the ‘rule keeper’ approach to the “value architect.” Building trust instead of control and creating a culture of accountability instead of just a strict hierarchy makes companies much more resilient.
About the author
Anna Lekomtseva is HR Director at Drofa Comms and an international HR leader specialising in scaling high-growth companies through Employee Experience and data-driven Talent Management.
A certified Corporate Psychologist with degrees in Linguistics and Law, she designs performance systems that align people strategy with measurable business outcomes.
Anna has built HR departments from the ground up across the US, Latin America, and Europe supporting rapid expansion from 150 to 400+ employees within 18 months. Her leadership has driven significant results, including a 45% increase in eNPS, a 15% reduction in turnover, and productivity growth of over 50% without increasing headcount. She specialises in remote team culture, KPI and OKR systems, retention strategy, and HR in fintech and regulated industries. Anna believes that high performance and humanity are not opposites: in strong cultures, they reinforce each other.
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