Why Cutting Costs with Remote Teams Misses the Bigger Picture

Copyright by Stephan Klaschka 2010-2025

Companies are calling employees back to the office, citing sunk costs in real estate and a desire for oversight. But is this really a smart strategy—or just reflex?

The Real Drivers Behind the Office Comeback

1. Sunk Costs in Office Space
   Many organizations invested heavily in office buildings, often amortized over a decade or more. With that financial commitment looming, empty desks feel wasteful—even if forcing people back doesn’t improve business outcomes.

2. Poor Remote Management Skills
   Some managers feel adrift without visual oversight. It’s not that remote work doesn’t work—it's that managing remotely demands new skills that many haven’t developed (or don’t want to).

Open Offices: The Illusion of Innovation

Companies swapped private offices for open spaces, claiming it would spark innovation. Reality check: It was about cost-cutting. Fewer walls mean less square footage—and fewer people doing more work with less time for those fabled “water cooler” moments. The result? Fatigue, not creativity.

Startups thrive in tight quarters because everyone’s driving toward innovation. However, applying that startup layout to a bloated enterprise mainly serves the bean counters, not the brainstormers.

The Productivity Myth

The assumption that remote work erodes productivity is unfounded. The truth? Remote teams can excel—if led well. The real gap is in measuring productivity effectively. Too often, it's based on gut feeling, not data. That’s not management; it’s guesswork.

What matters are objective, transparent metrics. Know what moves the needle. Measure it. And yes, be ready to be held accountable.

How to Actually Manage Remotely

Good remote leadership isn’t micromanagement—it’s clarity. Set expectations, communicate well, clear roadblocks, and hold people accountable. It’s not rocket science, and it works regardless of where your team sits.

Location Is Irrelevant. Productivity Is Everything.

Remote work isn’t the enemy—bad management is. Focus on results, not real estate. With the right structure and mindset, teams can thrive from anywhere.

So here’s the question every executive should ask:
Are we managing for appearances—or for outcomes?

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