A close friend of mine works at a major indie game studio. Last month, he told me a story that perfectly captures why remote work continues to fail at so many companies, despite all the evidence that it can work brilliantly.
His boss (who owns the company) is vehemently anti-remote work. Whenever a team member underperforms or takes what he considers too long to deliver, this boss immediately sows doubt about what the employee was actually doing during their time at home. “Were they really working those eight hours, or were they doing laundry and watching Netflix?”
The irony is painful. Here’s a man running a game studio, an industry built on understanding human motivation and behavior, who completely misunderstands the psychology of his own workforce. His distrust creates a toxic cycle: employees feel micromanaged and demoralized, which actually hurts their performance, which reinforces his belief that remote work doesn’t work.
Meanwhile, by cutting out remote working options, he’s hamstringing his team’s productivity and leaving incredible talent on the table. The best developers, artists, and designers often prefer flexible work arrangements. His competitors who embrace remote work get access to a global talent pool while he’s stuck with whoever happens to live within commuting distance of his office.
