Only 40% of remote workers get clear feedback from management, new survey shows
As a growing number of major companies make headlines with return-to-office mandates, conversations often center on productivity and culture. Far less attention is paid to the fundamental question: Are companies actually managing remote work effectively?
New data suggests that many companies are still struggling to adapt. Remote work itself isn’t to blame, as the data shows that distributed teams can be just as productive. Instead, leadership approaches designed for in-office environments haven’t fully evolved to meet the needs of remote and hybrid workers.
A November 2025 survey of 1,000 U.S.-based remote and hybrid workers conducted by Founder Reports, a business insights and research platform, suggests that leadership, rather than location, is the bigger issue. While 85% of respondents said clear communication from managers is essential, only 51% believe their manager provides it. Even fewer, just 40%, say they receive clear feedback.
The consequences are more significant than simply a lack of direction. When communication and feedback are inconsistent, remote workers report stronger feelings of isolation and higher pressure to prove their value. Many of the challenges in corporate culture often attributed to remote work may instead reflect gaps in leadership.
In traditional office settings, clarity and affirmation exist through daily, informal interactions. In distributed environments, those signals disappear unless managers intentionally replace them. Many organizations are still navigating that transition, and workers are feeling the effects.
Leadership Issues with Remote Teams
The Founder Reports survey found that most managers of remote teams are doing a great job of trusting employees and avoiding micro-management. A noteworthy 90% of respondents said they feel trusted by their bosses to be productive, and 73% feel they are not micro-managed.
Despite that, 44% reported feeling added pressure to prove their value as remote workers. So while they feel trusted, they don’t feel secure.
In an effort to avoid control and interference, the data indicates that many managers are too hands-off. In-office workers benefit from signals like visible reactions, brief communication in passing, and casual “water cooler” conversations. None of these things happens in distributed environments without proactive effort.
Managers may avoid pressure by giving space and trusting remote workers, but ironically, the lack of communication and feedback actually creates more pressure. Workers don’t know where they stand. They feel insecure and need to compensate by doing more to prove their worth or going out of their way to show their contributions.
The Ripple Effects of Weak Remote Leadership
Isolation is one of the most common issues with remote work. Working from home doesn’t provide the same personal interaction and relationship-building opportunities that come from being in an office with co-workers every day.
In the Founder Reports survey, isolation was the top challenge reported by participants. More than one in four respondents (27%) said they struggle with isolation from colleagues. While physical distance certainly contributes to that isolation, a lack of feedback, affirmation, and shared context compounds it.
Poor communication leads to team members who don’t know how their work fits into the bigger picture, which adds to feelings of isolation and pressure.
The Founder Reports survey showed that hybrid workers who split their time between the home and office are more likely to notice their in-office colleagues receiving preferential treatment. Thirty-three percent of hybrid workers believe their fully in-office colleagues are more likely to be recognized or promoted, while only 22% of fully remote workers have noticed this bias.
While those numbers indicate that some remote and hybrid workers are aware of the preferential treatment of in-office workers, other studies have proven the issue is far more common. In a 2022 study by Envoy, 96% of executives said they notice the contributions of employees who work in the office more than those of remote workers.
If leaders don’t notice remote and hybrid workers, the feelings of added pressure and isolation are validated.
Remote Work Isn’t the Problem
The past year has been filled with headline-grabbing RTO mandates, with many CEOs and corporate leaders citing increased productivity as a reason to head back to the office. However, several studies show that remote workers are actually more productive.
A comprehensive study by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics examined productivity from 2019 to 2022. With multiple years of data covering 61 industries in the private business sector, the BLS concluded that “the increase in remote work substantially contributed to productivity growth during the pandemic.”
Great Place to Work conducted an extensive two-year study of 800,000 workers and found that “working from home can be just as productive, if not more so, than traditional office setups.” The report showed that 97 out of the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For support remote or hybrid work, and that productivity at these companies is nearly 42% higher than the average U.S. workplace.
A 2025 report from Flex Index revealed that fully remote companies grew 1.7 times faster than mandate-driven companies from 2019 to 2024.
Low productivity isn’t the result of remote work. Ineffective leadership and communication are the root causes. Remote work didn’t cause poor communication, but it does expose it. Leading a distributed team requires a different approach than managing a group of workers in a traditional office setting, and companies must adapt to succeed.
What Effective Remote Leadership Looks Like
Here are some of the specific ways leaders of remote teams must adapt.
Clear, documented expectations
Remote workers are more likely to feel pressure when they don’t know what’s expected of them. They may go out of their way to seem busy or prove their contributions to justify their value. Providing team members with clear, documented expectations is the solution.
Kristie Tse, LMHC, Founder and Clinical Director of Uncover Mental Health Counseling, says companies “should establish clear performance metrics, ensuring recognition is based on outcomes, not physical presence.”
Regular, predictable communication rhythms
Workers in a traditional office setting see their managers daily. They have opportunities to ask questions, get approval, and discuss roadblocks. They can also sense urgency through observation.
In a distributed environment without a predictable rhythm, communication becomes reactive. Leaders should establish regular and consistent opportunities for workers to get alignment, clarification, and assistance.
Systems that make work visible without forcing self-promotion
Pressure to perform is reduced when employee accomplishments are recognized. Recognition and positive feedback come naturally in an office setting, but must be more deliberate with distributed teams.
Kraig Kleeman, Founder and CEO of The New Workforce, recommends weekly wins calls and asynchronous shoutouts that make invisible work visible. “It is more about reinforcement than it is about surveillance,” he says.
Intentional connection tied to purpose
Social connection is essential for minimizing isolation among distributed teams. Zoom calls and Slack conversations provide some level of personal interaction, but opportunities to connect outside of a typical meeting structure are needed.
Shawn Rubel, Founder and CEO of Vecteezy says an in-person annual company meeting has been invaluable for his remote team. “Gathering together for a few days allows everyone to get to know each other on a much more personal level. It helps everyone on our team to feel more connected and to see how their work contributes to the big picture.”
Transparent career development paths
With executives recognizing the contributions of in-office employees more than those of remote workers, efforts should be made to ensure that everyone has equal opportunities. Companies can create career development paths with defined milestones and accomplishments that determine promotions.
Why Companies Must Adapt
Even with many well-known companies returning to the office, remote work is still very common. BLS data shows 22.9% of U.S. employees worked remotely at least some of the time in November 2025, down less than 1% from the peak in 2024.
Workers overwhelmingly want flexibility. According to the Founder Reports study, only 26% of remote and hybrid workers would return to the office willingly if their company ended remote work. Companies that figure out how to work effectively with distributed teams will be able to lure and retain top talent.
The COVID-19 pandemic forced many companies into remote work before they were ready, and leadership styles have, in some cases, been slow to adjust. Communication, feedback, and clarity are core leadership skills, but distributed teams require a different approach than traditional in-office teams. Those who adapt will remain productive with a remote workforce, while others may struggle.
Methodology for the Founder Reports Survey
In November 2025, Founder Reports surveyed, via Prolific.com, 1,000 U.S.-based adults working in remote or hybrid roles. Respondents answered a series of questions about their work preferences, manager relationships, remote work challenges, perceptions of fairness, and willingness to return to the office. All data is based on self-reported responses from survey participants.
This story was produced by Founder Reports and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
