diff --git a/apps/web/src/components/Sidebar.logic.test.ts b/apps/web/src/components/Sidebar.logic.test.ts
index b57e2f00c89..94a2ed09256 100644
--- a/apps/web/src/components/Sidebar.logic.test.ts
+++ b/apps/web/src/components/Sidebar.logic.test.ts
@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@ import {
   resolveSidebarStageBadgeLabel,
   resolveThreadRowClassName,
   resolveSidebarV2Status,
+  resolveSidebarV2TopStatus,
   resolveThreadStatusPill,
   resolveWorkingStartedAt,
   searchSidebarThreadsByTitle,
@@ -2147,3 +2148,22 @@ describe("sortLogicalProjectsForSidebar", () => {
     ).toEqual(["logical-newer", "logical-older"]);
   });
 });
+
+describe("resolveSidebarV2TopStatus", () => {
+  it("shows monitoring as its own calm status, not as Working", () => {
+    // Board cards read this. Folding monitoring into Working gave a watch loop
+    // the active-progress shimmer, which is what the v1 pill (pulse: false) and
+    // the v2 sidebar row both deliberately avoid.
+    const monitoring = resolveSidebarV2TopStatus({ status: "monitoring", isUnread: false });
+    expect(monitoring?.label).toBe("Monitoring");
+    expect(monitoring?.icon).toBeNull();
+    expect(monitoring?.className).not.toContain("animate-sidebar-working-text");
+  });
+
+  it("keeps working animated so the two remain distinguishable", () => {
+    const working = resolveSidebarV2TopStatus({ status: "working", isUnread: false });
+    expect(working?.label).toBe("Working");
+    expect(working?.icon).toBe("working");
+    expect(working?.className).toContain("animate-sidebar-working-text");
+  });
+});
diff --git a/apps/web/src/components/Sidebar.logic.ts b/apps/web/src/components/Sidebar.logic.ts
index 14a36269e52..2e8c05478ee 100644
--- a/apps/web/src/components/Sidebar.logic.ts
+++ b/apps/web/src/components/Sidebar.logic.ts
@@ -883,7 +883,7 @@ export function resolveSidebarV2Status(thread: SidebarV2StatusInput): SidebarV2S
 }
 
 export interface SidebarV2TopStatus {
-  label: "Working" | "Approval" | "Input" | "Failed" | "Done";
+  label: "Working" | "Monitoring" | "Approval" | "Input" | "Failed" | "Done";
   icon: "working" | "done" | null;
   className: string;
 }
@@ -894,15 +894,21 @@ export function resolveSidebarV2TopStatus(input: {
 }): SidebarV2TopStatus | null {
   switch (input.status) {
     case "working":
-    // Monitoring is live background work too. The v2 top-status label union has
-    // no Monitoring member, so it reads as Working rather than inventing one.
-    case "monitoring":
       return {
         label: "Working",
         icon: "working",
         className:
           "animate-sidebar-working-text text-sky-600 motion-reduce:animate-none dark:text-sky-400",
       };
+    // Steady label, no icon, no duty-cycled shimmer: monitoring is calm
+    // background presence, not active progress (monitoring-pill D6). Matches the
+    // v2 sidebar row and the v1 pill, which uses pulse: false here.
+    case "monitoring":
+      return {
+        label: "Monitoring",
+        icon: null,
+        className: "text-sky-600 dark:text-sky-400",
+      };
     case "approval":
       return {
         label: "Approval",