What we've got here is failure to communicate

A remote worker lives and dies by communication. Some people do this very effectively without much trouble, and others have to learn it. I had to learn it. For a long while I actually avoided 'wasting time' on more idle communication and focused on completing the tasks at hand so I could get them done faster. Sometimes that worked, but often your co-workers do actually have valuable information to share with you, and some will be happy to help out to make things easier. The reverse holds true as well. Being able to tell the boss you were able to save the company a couple hundred hours worth of work over the next year is worth it, even if it's not your work.

It took me a long time to realize exactly how much simply talking with your co-workers factors in to how you are viewed in the company and develop some really simple ways of keeping on top of staying in the loop. Simply getting your job done isn't always enough. It's certainly easier to get the basic work done if you've set up your home office or remote workplace appropriately, but staying interconnected with everyone else becomes the harder part since people don't just drop by anymore.

It's slightly different for larger and smaller companies. With a larger company there are more opportunities to grab someone's attention for a few minutes. With a smaller company, it might be harder but it's even more important! You shouldn't let a day go by without discussing something with a co-worker via IM or phone. It doesn't matter if it's a work question along with a quick weather discussion, but formal meetings of 3+ people do not count.