5 ms·

How do you replicate water cooler talk in a fully remote environment? Do people do work while tuned in to a meeting where anyone can drop in and talk to them?

whateveracct 4y ago
Lots of public slack channels works pretty well in my experience. People end up talking about a lot in plain view and people hop in etc
- slothtrop 4y ago
  This feels about as intimate and satisfying as talking with randoms on discord. Or posting on HN.
  - distrill 4y ago
    in a huge company sure but in smaller startups it's fine, it's nice even. i've been at companies with 10 people and 10s of thousands and in between and obviously this stops holding true at a fairly small number of employees. but there are plenty of companies of the size that this works for fine.
  - whateveracct 4y ago
    It's not like it's random people every time though. There tend to be regulars in certain discussions and interest groups. Just like forums and chat rooms (on which I've definitely made connections with "randoms" due to discussing shared interests online and having a persistent identity there.
macintux 4y ago
When I started working for Basho, which was fully remote, many of the engineers were logged to a Mumble channel for chatting, while simultaneously on Slack. I couldn't handle that level of distraction, but some of them clearly enjoyed it.
KerrAvon 4y ago
If I want to talk about what happened on Johnny Carson last night I get in my DeLorean and rev it up to 88 mph. WTF have we become.
- nocman 4y ago
  I understand that some people don't see the value in face-to-face interaction with coworkers -- and I say this as someone who has worked in most scenarios (long-term remote, long-term full-time office, and partial remote). It obviously has more value for some than it does others. I actually prefer full-time remote, but I understand why some people don't like it. For some people, face-to-face makes it easier for them to get to know co-workers and develop a solid working relationship with them. Also, those face-to-face interactions often result in benefits for the company, as you often do still end up talking about things related to work, and valuable ideas can be exchanged that would not otherwise have been. Even if you don't talk about work things, knowing your co-workers well can be a benefit to the company. Obviously there are cases where you don't want to know an abrasive person well, so it varies. Your post sounds like you are saying in-office work is obsolete due to it being an "old-fashioned idea" (unless I am reading you wrong). If that is the case, I would caution against the possibility thinking newer is always better, because it clearly isn't always. Again, as I said, I prefer remote work, but I also understand why others don't. The same work model is not best for everyone in the world.
bastardoperator 4y ago
We have two 30 minute watercooler meetings a week where we talk about everything except work and our manager purposely doesn't join one of them.

whateveracct 4y ago

Lots of public slack channels works pretty well in my experience. People end up talking about a lot in plain view and people hop in etc

slothtrop 4y ago
This feels about as intimate and satisfying as talking with randoms on discord. Or posting on HN.
- distrill 4y ago
  in a huge company sure but in smaller startups it's fine, it's nice even. i've been at companies with 10 people and 10s of thousands and in between and obviously this stops holding true at a fairly small number of employees. but there are plenty of companies of the size that this works for fine.
- whateveracct 4y ago
  It's not like it's random people every time though. There tend to be regulars in certain discussions and interest groups. Just like forums and chat rooms (on which I've definitely made connections with "randoms" due to discussing shared interests online and having a persistent identity there.

macintux 4y ago

When I started working for Basho, which was fully remote, many of the engineers were logged to a Mumble channel for chatting, while simultaneously on Slack. I couldn't handle that level of distraction, but some of them clearly enjoyed it.

KerrAvon 4y ago

If I want to talk about what happened on Johnny Carson last night I get in my DeLorean and rev it up to 88 mph. WTF have we become.

nocman 4y ago
I understand that some people don't see the value in face-to-face interaction with coworkers -- and I say this as someone who has worked in most scenarios (long-term remote, long-term full-time office, and partial remote). It obviously has more value for some than it does others. I actually prefer full-time remote, but I understand why some people don't like it. For some people, face-to-face makes it easier for them to get to know co-workers and develop a solid working relationship with them. Also, those face-to-face interactions often result in benefits for the company, as you often do still end up talking about things related to work, and valuable ideas can be exchanged that would not otherwise have been. Even if you don't talk about work things, knowing your co-workers well can be a benefit to the company. Obviously there are cases where you don't want to know an abrasive person well, so it varies. Your post sounds like you are saying in-office work is obsolete due to it being an "old-fashioned idea" (unless I am reading you wrong). If that is the case, I would caution against the possibility thinking newer is always better, because it clearly isn't always. Again, as I said, I prefer remote work, but I also understand why others don't. The same work model is not best for everyone in the world.

bastardoperator 4y ago

We have two 30 minute watercooler meetings a week where we talk about everything except work and our manager purposely doesn't join one of them.