[markkanof]

I think some of the replies to your comment and surrounding comments are missing an important point, which I'm going to assume you were making. In a remote work situation, managers need to check in for more than just directly work related conversations.

The comment that started this thread was making the claim that people have difficulty comprehending others as people that they don't directly see in person. So managers (everyone really) should be checking in at least once a day, even if it's just to ask "how's it going" (generally, not a work status report), have a conversation about something non-work related, crack some jokes, whatever. Basically, maintaining that human connection sometimes needs to be forced a little bit, because it's so important and leads to a tighter knit team.