'I don't know if they're really working': Manager dislikes WFH despite employees meeting all targets. HR's blunt response goes viral

The debate over work-from-home refuses to die. Even years after remote work became mainstream, many managers remain uncomfortable with teams they cannot physically see. But what happens when employees are meeting deadlines, delivering results and causing no performance concerns, yet their manager still wants them back in the office? A recent post shared by career coach Simon Ingari has gone viral for highlighting exactly that conflict, and the HR response has struck a chord with professionals across industries.

Taking to X, Simon Ingari shared a fictional yet relatable workplace conversation between a manager and an HR professional. The exchange centred on a manager's discomfort with employees working remotely despite there being no issues with their performance.

Manager hates WFH

The conversation began with the manager admitting, "I don't like seeing everyone working from home." When HR asked why, the manager replied that he did not know whether employees were "really working" when they were away from the office. The HR professional immediately challenged that reasoning, asking whether monitoring physical presence had become the manager's method of measuring performance.



The manager answered yes. From there, the discussion shifted away from assumptions and toward outcomes.
HR asked whether the team's work was getting done. The manager acknowledged that it was. The next question was about deadlines. Once again, the manager admitted that employees were meeting them.

HR then probed further, asking if there were any actual performance issues within the team. The answer remained the same: no. At that point, the contradiction became difficult to ignore. According to the exchange shared by Ingari, employees were completing their assignments, meeting deadlines and showing no signs of underperformance. Yet the manager's concern persisted simply because the work was being done from home.

HR's blunt answer

When the manager insisted that "that's not the point," HR delivered the line that has resonated most strongly online. "I don't think the issue here is WFH," the HR professional said. "The problem is that you measure hours and visibility, not results."


The statement cuts to the heart of a long-running workplace debate. Traditional management styles often place significant value on seeing employees at their desks, equating visibility with productivity. Remote work, however, has challenged that assumption by shifting attention toward measurable outcomes rather than physical presence.

Ingari's post sparked discussion because it reflected a concern many employees have experienced firsthand. While organisations increasingly emphasise performance metrics, some managers still struggle to separate productivity from visibility.