How to make friends when you are working remotely

If split-screen does not activate, double check that your controllers are on and connected properly. You may need to push the ‘start’ button to send a signal to the device. On the right, you can filter by lobby settings to find your host’s lobby.

• This has taken a toll on workers, whose profound loneliness is evident not only in the data but the numerous self-reports emerging from media sources of all kinds.
• It says something about you and lets people see what you have in common.
• Whether you’re sending a text message or voice message through a program like Voxer, it’s the remote equivalent of popping into someone’s office to tell them a quick story on your way to the bathroom.
• She always starts her weekly staff meetings with a different icebreaker question.

« Our economy is no longer kind of a manufacturing economy, and creative work is not necessarily sitting in front of a screen, » Terrazas said. The jury is still out on whether fully remote workers are less productive, but many companies seem to be coming to this conclusion — and acting accordingly. Some workers at employee-tracking software companies have expressed privacy concerns. « Now, post-pandemic, even as people are going back to offices, companies are adapting to the hybrid-work setup, » he said. In July, one boss, Michael Patrón, took to X, formerly Twitter, to say he’d just fired two workers who were using mouse-moving technology to mimic work.

Schedule an informal meeting just to chat

Engage with them on a human level, not a coworker-trying-to-network level. Ask them to hop into a video call with you just to chat about what you’re working on and what their interests are. (Or ice cream, for the folks who don’t drink. My pal Karen Ho, a sustainability https://remotemode.net/blog/tips-on-how-to-make-friends-when-you-work-from-home/ reporter at Insider, taught me that one!) Make plans to hang out after a big project is finished, for example. Book that 15 minute coffee break on their calendar so no one forgets, and be willing to move it if you (or they) aren’t feeling it today.

Managers can also create opportunities for employees to meet in-person and take full advantage of these opportunities. When people travel to various sites, have them reach out to the people they work with. One manager in our study had her employees hold “office hours” whenever they travelled to a company office, a practice she cited as very effective for building relationships. Structure a relationship-building opportunity early in every in-person meeting because it’s awkward to see people again after a long break.

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In a 2022 Korn Ferry survey of 15,000 global executives, two-thirds agreed that corporate culture accounts for more than 30% of their company’s market value. Many leaders, the report notes, believe that a strong culture can only be established and maintained « if everyone is — at least some of the time — occupying the same workplace. » Even though more companies have introduced stricter in-office requirements for employees, office occupancy has remained relatively unchanged from the past year. The renewed push to end remote work comes as more CEOs openly acknowledge their disdain for the model, arguing that productivity, collaboration and employee engagement all suffer without the office.

• So even if you’ve suffered from burnout or loneliness, make yourself the harbinger of good things to come.
• She advises that both employers and employees be “purposeful” about choosing their in-office days for productivity reasons, but also to reinforce workplace relationships.
• That said, there are some potential pitfalls to working remotely.
• On the right, you can filter by lobby settings to find your host’s lobby.
• Whether you’re going to a scheduled mass play date or attending your kid’s sporting events, you can chat with other parents.
• If you’re self-employed or work alone, you may not have colleagues to offer advice and support when you need it.
• Scheduling an informal chat is great, but this chat needs to be repeated for a friendship to develop.

Sure, when we were all in proximity to each other, it was easy to swing by someone’s desk and say “Hey, let’s go grab a coffee” and just dish about what you’re working on or how awful the commute has been. When you’re stuck at home, there’s no similar casual hangout, but just being in the office isn’t the solution, as tempting as it might be to think so. At Atlassian we encourage individuals to give team members kudos (thank you notes with small gifts) when they embody a specific trait from our company values.

Yes, You Can Still Make Friends at Work If You’re Remote. Here’s How.

You could help them imagine what it must be like in your shoes by joking about the challenges of learning about your new organization from afar. Much has been written about the impact of hybrid work on work relationships. Assuming we agree that remote work brings benefits we’d like to retain, here are some suggestions to build friendships that will work remotely and in person. You don’t need to be a sports fanatic to get some exercise and meet new people at sporting events. Head out to a city park on a weekend, and you’ll see plenty of beer-swilling, joke-telling, and downright friendly people just looking to do the same thing as you — just get out of the house and enjoy the weather. Again, it’s just the act of going that can lead to social interactions and help you learn how to make friends when you work from home.

And as we know, having these connections, in turn, impacts opportunity. Reflect on the coworkers you’re building friendships with—if fewer than half are of a different gender or race, you may want to consider branching out. These days, the best way to take a peek into someone’s life is through their social media.