Form Connections While Working Remotely

3 Min

Forming and maintaining relationships with coworkers is an essential part of work, whether you’re in-office or remote. It can help you be more productive, enable you to learn new skills, and make work more enjoyable.

Don’t let geographical distances cut you off from your team. Instead, do these things:

Get virtual coffees

Just because you’re not in the same location doesn’t mean you can’t get coffees together. Schedule coffee breaks with your colleagues, where you both get coffees, then chat while sipping them in different locations. It’s a great way to get to know your co-workers better.

Use chat tools

Tools like Slack or Jabber can be useful for interacting informally and building relationships. If your team uses those tools, take some time during the day to check in on people, or create a chat group based around a hobby or interest. Of course, don’t get too carried away — you don’t want your relationship-building to veer into unwanted distraction territory.

Schedule in-person time

Okay, this is kind of a cop-out. It’s hard to beat occasional in-person interactions when it comes to forming and building relationships. So if the rest of your team works in an office together, schedule some time to join them every once in a while. And if your whole team works remotely but are in the same region, try scheduling an event (Dinner! Museum trip! Ballgame!) where you can all get together in the flesh.

Let's practice!

Lizzie spends about 60% of her time working from home, and she's starting to feel like she's missing out on team culture. What's something she can do to make a connection with her teammates?

Quiz 1 of 1

What's something Lizzie can do to make a connection with one of her teammates?

a
Invite one of her teammates to her home.
b
Just continue to do her work and trust that her teammates will appreciate it.
c
Schedule a lunch with a teammate on one of the days she's in the office.
d
Come into work more often. People are more successful at connecting with teammates when they're in the office.

TAKE THE NEXT STEP:

Schedule a virtual coffee with someone on your team. Spend 15 minutes just getting to know each other while you recharge.

Lesson complete

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