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No. We tried having daily "tea break" calls and weekly "Friday drinks" calls, but attendance was so low that we just cancelled them. Amongst people who were a

No. We tried having daily "tea break" calls and weekly "Friday drinks" calls, but attendance was so low that we just cancelled them. Amongst people who were already friendly we still have private group chats in our work Slack, but the number of conversations is obviously far lower than when you're all in the kitchen making breakfast or tea in the morning. We had a conversation about why the daily and weekly open conversation calls weren't working, and the resounding answer was they they felt like enforced fun. It's just not the same as meeting someone in a corridor or on a smoke break or in the kitchen.

echelon 6y ago
Same. I've worked at my current company over five years and have been a really strong IC. I used to talk to lots of people in the office from many various teams and backgrounds. Now I only talk to my lead and a handful of others. Work drags on every day and feels inhuman. It never "ends" now. I don't find any joy or satisfaction in it. I hate this, and I don't know how much longer I can put up with it. I don't even use our product. The thing that kept me happy and productive was the other people. Now that's gone. I need a sabbatical. WFH is awful. I'm so burnt out.
- daniellarusso 6y ago
  I schedule my team a weekly zoom ‘group hug’, where we just basically take a break for 30 minutes and talk about our pets or various desk tchotchkes (which I think are important to have some small objects that can provide temporary joy). It can be a bit awkward at some times, but it seems to be a nice change.
- mathieuh 6y ago
  That sounds awful. I felt similarly for the first few months of WFH, but I think that was because I had it in my head that WFH was temporary. I've now accepted (and been told as much by management) that WFH is going to be the norm going forward. I obviously don't need as much human interaction as you or other people I work with, because we have a system which allows a small number of people into the office per day if they want to work in the office, and it's always the same people. I haven't availed of it once. I think all this is just showing what a lot of people already knew: the one-size-fits-all 9-5 way of working really didn't work for everyone. The company I work for (Arm) have been really great about the whole situation in accommodating people's different circumstances and I'm hopeful for the future.
- bonestamp2 6y ago
  I've been working remotely for 13 years now. I do have a desk at the office, although I rarely go in. The only thing I miss is seeing some of the great people every day. Prior to the pandemic, many of us still talked remotely every day. But, that rarely happens now. More on that in a moment. The worst thing about WFH during a pandemic is that one of the major things that kept me sane for the past 13 years was being able to go work at a local coffee shop or co-working space when I needed to get out of the house -- but none of those places have tables right now so that's off the table (sorry). On a side note, my kids and wife are around the house all day now, which should be from a social standpoint, and it is to a point, but it's terrible for concentration and it's a little too much time together when everyone tries to maintain their pre-pandemic expectations (hard for kids not to). I'm not complaining though, my point is simply that WFH isn't normally this bad and cannot be judged fairly during a pandemic. I used to start working when I woke up very early in the morning and stop working around 330pm. Now, between helping my kids with their School from home work, and other family related interruptions, the workday never ends. Many of my coworkers are in the same boat. Those who don't have kids are still anxious because their wonderful life is mostly shutdown too. Everyone is more stressed, more anxious, more irritable, and these feelings are the opposite of what WFH normally feels like.
- bobwall 6y ago
  That is sad to hear. By any chance do you live with others. I thankfully have my wife and two kids which helped, though I just moved from LA to SC, because it was so draconian. We have already talked to more neighbors in 5 days living here than we did in years living in LA. Point being the isolation is much less here because people all walk in the neighborhood and actually say hello and mean it. They don't in LA. But, I too am missing interactions at work terribly.
- andrei_says_ 6y ago
  What is a strong IC? What does the abbreviation stand for? Also I feel compassion for your situation. Isolation is a serious issue and could contribute to symptoms of depression. In my case, WFH is godsend... I have multiple zoom conversations with colleagues every day and always find time for less formal, human exchanges which contribute to the sense of connection.
  - chwolfe 6y ago
    Individual Contributor
closeparen 6y ago
I have noticed that the “unstructured conversation” calls are super awkward and stall out after a few minutes, but playing online party games together (Among Us, Codenames, Skribbl, etc) has been a stronger background on which we have actually conversations.
flower-giraffe 6y ago
-> "Friday drinks" calls, but attendance was so low that we just cancelled them. We have a 15 minute mandatory weekly review to start - it’s quite common for the session to last three hours.

echelon 6y ago

Same. I've worked at my current company over five years and have been a really strong IC. I used to talk to lots of people in the office from many various teams and backgrounds. Now I only talk to my lead and a handful of others. Work drags on every day and feels inhuman. It never "ends" now. I don't find any joy or satisfaction in it. I hate this, and I don't know how much longer I can put up with it. I don't even use our product. The thing that kept me happy and productive was the other people. Now that's gone. I need a sabbatical. WFH is awful. I'm so burnt out.

daniellarusso 6y ago
I schedule my team a weekly zoom ‘group hug’, where we just basically take a break for 30 minutes and talk about our pets or various desk tchotchkes (which I think are important to have some small objects that can provide temporary joy). It can be a bit awkward at some times, but it seems to be a nice change.
mathieuh 6y ago
That sounds awful. I felt similarly for the first few months of WFH, but I think that was because I had it in my head that WFH was temporary. I've now accepted (and been told as much by management) that WFH is going to be the norm going forward. I obviously don't need as much human interaction as you or other people I work with, because we have a system which allows a small number of people into the office per day if they want to work in the office, and it's always the same people. I haven't availed of it once. I think all this is just showing what a lot of people already knew: the one-size-fits-all 9-5 way of working really didn't work for everyone. The company I work for (Arm) have been really great about the whole situation in accommodating people's different circumstances and I'm hopeful for the future.
bonestamp2 6y ago
I've been working remotely for 13 years now. I do have a desk at the office, although I rarely go in. The only thing I miss is seeing some of the great people every day. Prior to the pandemic, many of us still talked remotely every day. But, that rarely happens now. More on that in a moment. The worst thing about WFH during a pandemic is that one of the major things that kept me sane for the past 13 years was being able to go work at a local coffee shop or co-working space when I needed to get out of the house -- but none of those places have tables right now so that's off the table (sorry). On a side note, my kids and wife are around the house all day now, which should be from a social standpoint, and it is to a point, but it's terrible for concentration and it's a little too much time together when everyone tries to maintain their pre-pandemic expectations (hard for kids not to). I'm not complaining though, my point is simply that WFH isn't normally this bad and cannot be judged fairly during a pandemic. I used to start working when I woke up very early in the morning and stop working around 330pm. Now, between helping my kids with their School from home work, and other family related interruptions, the workday never ends. Many of my coworkers are in the same boat. Those who don't have kids are still anxious because their wonderful life is mostly shutdown too. Everyone is more stressed, more anxious, more irritable, and these feelings are the opposite of what WFH normally feels like.
bobwall 6y ago
That is sad to hear. By any chance do you live with others. I thankfully have my wife and two kids which helped, though I just moved from LA to SC, because it was so draconian. We have already talked to more neighbors in 5 days living here than we did in years living in LA. Point being the isolation is much less here because people all walk in the neighborhood and actually say hello and mean it. They don't in LA. But, I too am missing interactions at work terribly.
andrei_says_ 6y ago
What is a strong IC? What does the abbreviation stand for? Also I feel compassion for your situation. Isolation is a serious issue and could contribute to symptoms of depression. In my case, WFH is godsend... I have multiple zoom conversations with colleagues every day and always find time for less formal, human exchanges which contribute to the sense of connection.
- chwolfe 6y ago
  Individual Contributor

closeparen 6y ago

I have noticed that the “unstructured conversation” calls are super awkward and stall out after a few minutes, but playing online party games together (Among Us, Codenames, Skribbl, etc) has been a stronger background on which we have actually conversations.

flower-giraffe 6y ago

-> "Friday drinks" calls, but attendance was so low that we just cancelled them. We have a 15 minute mandatory weekly review to start - it’s quite common for the session to last three hours.