I strongly recommend reading the "Remote" book. There are sections which detail why the "handicapping" argument you just made is a fallacy. As for the workflow

I strongly recommend reading the "Remote" book. There are sections which detail why the "handicapping" argument you just made is a fallacy. As for the workflow you describe being "impossible with remote communications," trust me, it's not! Just paste a screenshot into a group chat. Often this is faster and more effective than physically showing someone a screen anyway, plus it broadcasts the info to a potentially larger group. As for the "wait for them to notice" part, that's just bad collaboration and it happens whether people are there or not. If you're expecting your coworker to be interruptible, s/he can be whether it's IM or it's a shoulder tap if that's the expectation. Meanwhile, in a big crowded open office plan, often times people are just as uninterruptible as remote is so often perceived to be. People put on headphones and strongly resist shoulder taps. Whether you're all in one office or all collaborating over chat, success or failure is about proper communication, not which medium you're using.