Is remote working causing productivity issues?

For many small and medium-sized businesses in the UK, remote working started as a necessity and became a habit. That convenience has real benefits: happier staff, lower office costs and easier recruitment beyond the usual commute. But for firms with 10–200 people, the question has moved from “Can we do remote work?” to “Is remote working causing productivity issues?”

Where productivity typically slips — and why it matters

When productivity drops it usually shows up as missed deadlines, slower sales cycles, or an increasing backlog that eats your margins. The causes are rarely about employees being unwilling to work; they’re about the system around them. I’ve seen similar patterns across businesses from a legal practice in Bristol to a manufacturer on the outskirts of Birmingham and a digital agency in Manchester.

Unclear outcomes and fiddly processes

Remote teams do best when everyone knows the outcome they’re aiming for. Where tasks are vague, people wait for clarification and time is lost. In the office you often pick this up in passing. Remote, that casual correction disappears and small problems compound.

Poor communication and meeting overload

Teams swap water-cooler chats for long meetings or constant messages. Both are productivity drains. Meetings that were half an hour in person often become hour-long video calls where people repeat information because there’s no shared context.

Uneven tech and home-working realities

Not all homes are created equal. Staff in city flats often have reliable broadband; those in rural areas or with shared family space can struggle. Work that requires quick turnaround or large files suffers disproportionately.

Blurred boundaries and burnout

Remote working can extend the working day. That overtime may look productive at first, but over time it erodes energy, increases errors and raises staff turnover — which is costly for growing firms.

Fixes that protect revenue, reputation and time

Fixes don’t require a big tech overhaul. They need clear intent, a few simple rules and the discipline to enforce them. Here are practical actions I’d recommend to a managing director or operations lead in a UK business.

1. Switch from hours to outputs

Define success as completed work or business outcomes rather than time logged. For client-facing teams, that might be turnaround times, response rates or conversion metrics. For back-office teams, it could be task completion rates and error reduction. Make these visible — not as surveillance but as shared targets.

2. Standardise the essentials, allow local flexibility

Set a small list of approved tools and protocols for file naming, version control and meeting notes. That reduces friction. At the same time, accept that people will arrange their day differently; an accountant in Yorkshire may start earlier and finish earlier, while a customer-service team in London may operate later.

3. Rework meetings into working sessions

Question every recurring meeting. If it’s status updates, replace them with short written summaries and reserve meetings for decision-making or problem-solving. When you do run a meeting, share an agenda and desired outcome in advance so nobody leaves unsure of the next step.

4. Set clear core hours and communication norms

Core hours (for example, 10:00–15:00) give teams overlap for collaboration while preserving flexible start and finish times. Agree response-time expectations for urgent and non-urgent messages so people don’t feel obliged to be constantly available.

5. Train managers to manage outcomes, not presence

Line managers are the crucial link. Train them to coach, set clear priorities and hold regular 1:1s focused on blockers, not just task lists. They also need tools to spot early signs of overload or disengagement and a plan for follow-up.

6. Triage tech issues that cost time

Some tech problems genuinely cost hours: slow VPNs, inconsistent file access, or poor audio on calls. Fix the small set of issues that repeatedly break workflows. If you need a simple, practical remote-working checklist to roll out quickly, use a practical remote-working checklist as a starting point and adapt it to your teams.

7. Keep some in-person connection

Hybrid models work best when in-person time is purposeful: planning days, training, onboarding and cross-team workshops. Regular face-to-face touchpoints reduce misunderstandings and help new hires learn the culture quicker.

Measuring success without micromanagement

Start with a short list of metrics tied to business outcomes — not vanity figures. Examples include lead-to-sale time, average delivery time, customer satisfaction and staff retention for critical roles. Review these monthly and link them to actions: if delivery times slip, look at process bottlenecks; if retention drops, speak to managers and staff about workload.

Use qualitative feedback too. Quarterly staff pulse surveys and simple exit interview notes tell you about friction points you won’t see in numbers. Combine the two and you get a sharper picture that helps you fix what’s actually hurting productivity.

Common implementation stumbling blocks (and how to avoid them)

Overloading managers with new rules

Don’t launch ten new policies at once. Prioritise the changes that will make the biggest difference to cash flow and customer experience. Train, pilot and then roll out.

Confusing flexibility with lack of discipline

Flexibility doesn’t mean “do whatever”. Set clear expectations and deliverables. People appreciate autonomy when it’s paired with fairness and predictable rules.

Underestimating the hidden costs of poor onboarding

Remote onboarding often misses the soft touch: how your team works together day to day. Create a short onboarding plan that pairs new starters with a buddy and includes hands-on walkthroughs of common tasks.

FAQ

Is remote working the main reason for slower performance?

Not usually. Remote working is a variable, not a cause in itself. Slower performance tends to come from unclear processes, poor communication and inconsistent management — all of which become more visible when people aren’t co-located.

How do we measure productivity fairly across different roles?

Define role-specific outcomes. For sales it’s revenue and conversion; for ops it could be turnaround time and error rates. Combine numeric targets with peer and manager assessments to capture quality and context.

Should we force people back to the office?

Forcing staff back rarely fixes the underlying problems and can harm morale. A better approach is to identify which tasks genuinely require being together and design hybrid patterns that focus office time on those activities.

How quickly will changes show results?

Some improvements — clearer meeting rules or obvious process changes — can show benefits within weeks. Cultural shifts, better management practice and improved onboarding take a few months to embed.

Final thoughts and a quiet nudge

If remote working is nudging productivity off course, the fix usually isn’t more hardware or stricter rules — it’s clearer outcomes, better manager coaching and a few well-chosen changes to process. For UK business owners, the prize is practical: less time firefighting, steadier delivery to customers and a calmer senior team.

If you want help prioritising the few changes that will protect revenue and free up time, start with a short review of your meeting culture, manager training and onboarding process. Those three areas deliver faster wins and improve credibility with customers and staff alike.