Remote work is the new normal, but a persistent question for some managers is, “What are my employees actually doing all day?” Some employers feel the urge to monitor remote employees closely—after all, you can’t observe their every move like in a conventional office. I’ve managed remote teams and know how tempting it is to check in frequently. The reality is, spying on staff via monitoring software doesn’t work; it’s a losing game. It doesn’t increase productivity but rather diminishes trust and lowers morale. Allow me to share insights from my experiences to explain why the focus should be on outcomes rather than the urge to track.
The Monitoring Trap: It’s Not What It Seems
With a surge in demand for employee monitoring apps comes a wide variety of features. Controlio, for example, is a tool that tracks time spent on tasks and even offers keystroke tracking and screenshot logging. I considered using such a tool when my team shifted to remote work, as it seemed reassuring. But I soon realized that adding stress wouldn’t speed up project completion—it would only position me as a micromanager.
Monitoring often has the opposite effect of what’s intended. A 2021 study found that 43% of employees felt less trusted when tracked, leading to lower engagement. Your team members are adults hired to do a job, not middle schoolers. Watching their screens feels like checking homework, and no one thrives under such scrutiny.
Trust-Based Management Instead of Time Management
Shift your approach to focus on goals and results achieved—not hours spent in front of a screen. Are milestones met? Are clients satisfied? Adopting outcome-based management transformed my team’s performance. For a website redesign project, I set milestone-based deliverables—wireframes due in week one, mockups in week three—and let my team decide how to complete them. They finished early, and I didn’t need to know whether they worked from a café or their couch.
Set clear, specific goals and conduct progress check-ins or short calls. This balances autonomy while ensuring alignment. If you want less invasive solutions for monitoring project progress, check out the best employee time tracking apps in 2025 top #20 tools.
Trust Breeds Loyalty
Trust is the foundation of great teams, especially in a remote setup. Monitoring software sends the message, “I don’t believe in you,” which harms morale. I learned this when I stopped asking my team for daily updates and trusted them to manage their tasks, stepping in only for big-picture guidance. The result? They felt empowered, took ownership, and pitched creative ideas I hadn’t considered.
Schedule one-on-ones to discuss goals and challenges, trusting employees to find their own paths to achievement. Ask, “What’s in your way?” or “How can I help?” to show you care about their success, not just their screen time. A 2023 Gallup survey found that trust-based management increased productivity by 12%.
The Time Sink of Tracking
Monitoring reports are a time sink—who has the hours to review them? During my stint at a small consulting business, I was too busy to even eat lunch, let alone analyze desktop screenshots. Relying on monitoring tools creates another problem: piles of data—charts, logs, and alerts—demanding your attention. That’s time better spent on strategy, client outreach, or enjoying life.
Use proportional oversight. Project management tools like Trello or Asana provide updates at a glance, balancing visibility without micromanaging. Your energy is better spent scaling the business than shadowing employees.
Conclusion: Lead with Trust, Win with Results
Overcoming the urge to monitor remote employees isn’t about being nice—it’s a smart decision. Tools like Controlio may promise control, but they erode trust and waste time. My experience with trust-based leadership showed that focusing on results fosters productivity and brings out the best in teams. Employees are professionals; treat them as such, and their outcomes may surprise you.
Try this: Forget tracking software and set one clear, achievable milestone for your team to tackle in a day. Check in on progress, not through surveillance, and watch the improvement. Business goals become easier when the team is supported—so trust them to deliver. What step will you take to show your remote employees the benefits of trusted leadership?
