Beautiful Virgin Islands

Wednesday, Dec 10, 2025

How to get along with your boss while working remotely

How to get along with your boss while working remotely

There's one person at work you need to have a good relationship with for the sake of your career: your boss.

But not all of us do.

And working remotely could cause additional strain to an already-tense relationship.

"If the conflict is around work, then working remotely may actually make things worse or at best, create a certain amount of confusion," said Marie McIntyre, a career coach in Atlanta and author of "Secrets to Winning at Office Politics."

If you found your boss to be annoying, working separately might actually improve the relationship.

A change in work settings could also be a good opportunity to redefine your relationship with your boss. Here's how to get started:

Determine the problem


Figuring out what the issue is between you and your boss is the first step toward mending the relationship.

There are usually three reasons that cause a rift between a boss and a worker: work quality, loyalty or team player issues, and a difference in personality or work style, according to Steve Arneson, author of "What Your Boss Really Wants From You."

If the problem is your performance, then making an effort to improve will go a long way. Look for ways to go beyond expectations, hit deadlines early and help with other team projects.

Start taking on more responsibility, raise your hand for new projects and ask your boss for ways you can help ease their workload.

If the issue concerns loyalty or being a team player, Arneson suggests showing support to the boss and company and trying to be more supportive and collaborative with your colleagues.

"Lean in to this issue in a very positive, public manner so they see you turning this around," he said.

If it's a difference in work styles, take some time to self-reflect and try to be more adaptable to other people's work preferences.

If you can't determine the root of the problem on your own, Arneson suggested approaching your boss and saying something like: 'Our relationship isn't at a point where I'd like it to be, can we chat about that?'

Hopefully that gets the ball rolling. If not, ask a trusted peer with the same boss about what they think the root cause might be.

Know their work style


If your boss prefers emailing over meeting and you are constantly calling them, that's going to cause an issue.

If you don't already know your boss' work preferences, use this new world of remote work to your advantage.

"This is a great time to have a conversation with your boss and team about how they prefer to work," said Mary Abbajay, president of Careerstone Group and author of "Managing Up: How to Move Up, Win at Work, and Succeed with Any Type of Boss."

Take a look at what has and hasn't worked while working remotely over the past several months and use that to guide the conversation. Maybe your boss prefers longer weekly check-ins instead of short daily ones or would rather hop on the phone to chat real quick than discuss an issue over Slack.

Set expectations


If you don't know what your boss wants, it's going to be hard to meet expectations.

At the start of a project, McIntyre suggests talking to your boss about how often she wants progress updates, how much she wants to be involved during the process, who else needs to be kept in the loop, along with her priorities and deadline expectations.

If your boss tends to be more hands off and you need more clarity, McIntyre recommends framing the request like: 'It would be helpful to me if we had regular meetings about project XYZ' or 'Can we agree on a time every week to touch base?'

"Initiate the request and put it in terms of how to help you get the work done. Not in terms of how you never communicate with me," she said.

Avoid trust issues


Don't give your boss a reason to think you aren't working hard.

Trust is a big part of working remotely, and some bosses, particularly micro-managers, have a hard time with the shift to not knowing where their employees are.

Many workers have competing priorities working from home right now and many companies are offering flexible schedules, but don't leave your boss guessing about when you will and won't be available.

"Make sure they know your schedule," said Abbajay. "If someone is trying to reach you and they can't, they often assume the worst."

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
UK Officials Push Back at Trump Saying European Leaders ‘Talk Too Much’ About Ukraine
UK Warns of Escalating Cyber Assault Linked to Putin’s State-Backed Operations
UK Consumer Spending Falters in November as Households Hold Back Ahead of Budget
UK Orders Fresh Review of Prince Harry’s Security Status After Formal Request
U.S. Authorises Nvidia to Sell H200 AI Chips to China Under Security Controls
Trump in Direct Assault: European Leaders Are Weak, Immigration a Disaster. Russia Is Strong and Big — and Will Win
"App recommendation" or disguised advertisement? ChatGPT Premium users are furious
"The Great Filtering": Australia Blocks Hundreds of Thousands of Minors From Social Networks
Mark Zuckerberg Pulls Back From Metaverse After $70 Billion Loss as Meta Shifts Priorities to AI
Nvidia CEO Says U.S. Data-Center Builds Take Years while China ‘Builds a Hospital in a Weekend’
Indian Airports in Turmoil as IndiGo Cancels Over a Thousand Flights, Stranding Thousands
Hollywood Industry on Edge as Netflix Secures Near-$60 Bln Loan for Warner Bros Takeover
Drugs and Assassinations: The Connection Between the Italian Mafia and Football Ultras
Hollywood megadeal: Netflix acquires Warner Bros. Discovery for 83 billion dollars
The Disregard for a Europe ‘in Danger of Erasure,’ the Shift Toward Russia: Trump’s Strategic Policy Document
Two and a Half Weeks After the Major Outage: A Cloudflare Malfunction Brings Down Multiple Sites
UK data-regulator demands urgent clarity on racial bias in police facial-recognition systems
Labour Uses Biscuits to Explain UK Debt — MPs Lean Into Social Media to Reach New Audiences
German President Lays Wreath at Coventry as UK-Germany Reaffirm Unity Against Russia’s Threat
UK Inquiry Finds Putin ‘Morally Responsible’ for 2018 Novichok Death — London Imposes Broad Sanctions on GRU
India backs down on plan to mandate government “Sanchar Saathi” app on all smartphones
King Charles Welcomes German President Steinmeier to UK in First State Visit by Berlin in 27 Years
UK Plans Major Cutback to Jury Trials as Crown Court Backlog Nears 80,000
UK Government to Significantly Limit Jury Trials in England and Wales
U.S. and U.K. Seal Drug-Pricing Deal: Britain Agrees to Pay More, U.S. Lifts Tariffs
UK Postpones Decision Yet Again on China’s Proposed Mega-Embassy in London
Head of UK Budget Watchdog Resigns After Premature Leak of Reeves’ Budget Report
Car-sharing giant Zipcar to exit UK market by end of 2025
Reports of Widespread Drone Deployment Raise Privacy and Security Questions in the UK
UK Signals Security Concerns Over China While Pursuing Stronger Trade Links
Google warns of AI “irrationality” just as Gemini 3 launch rattles markets
Top Consultancies Freeze Starting Salaries as AI Threatens ‘Pyramid’ Model
Macron Says Washington Pressuring EU to Delay Enforcement of Digital-Regulation Probes Against Meta, TikTok and X
UK’s DragonFire Laser Downs High-Speed Drones as £316m Deal Speeds Naval Deployment
UK Chancellor Rejects Claims She Misled Public on Fiscal Outlook Ahead of Budget
Starmer Defends Autumn Budget as Finance Chief Faces Accusations of Misleading Public Finances
EU Firms Struggle with 3,000-Hour Paperwork Load — While Automakers Fear De Facto 2030 Petrol Car Ban
White House launches ‘Hall of Shame’ site to publicly condemn media outlets for alleged bias
UK Budget’s New EV Mileage Tax Undercuts Case for Plug-In Hybrids
UK Government Launches National Inquiry into ‘Grooming Gangs’ After US Warning and Rising Public Outcry
Taylor Swift Extends U.K. Chart Reign as ‘The Fate of Ophelia’ Hits Six Weeks at No. 1
250 Still Missing in the Massive Fire, 94 Killed. One Day After the Disaster: Survivor Rescued on the 16th Floor
Trump: National Guard Soldier Who Was Shot in Washington Has Died; Second Soldier Fighting for His Life
UK Chancellor Reeves Defends Tax Rises as Essential to Reduce Child Poverty and Stabilise Public Finances
No Evidence Found for Claim That UK Schools Are Shifting to Teaching American English
European Powers Urge Israel to Halt West Bank Settler Violence Amid Surge in Attacks
"I Would Have Given Her a Kidney": She Lent Bezos’s Ex-Wife $1,000 — and Received Millions in Return
European States Approve First-ever Military-Grade Surveillance Network via ESA
UK to Slash Key Pension Tax Perk, Targeting High Earners Under New Budget
UK Government Announces £150 Annual Cut to Household Energy Bills Through Levy Reforms
×