One Great Loss in Working Remote

I had brunch with some coworkers today. We talked about health, cryptocurrencies, credit cards, medical insurance, working styles, plans for the holidays, even menstrual cups.

I found out interesting things about them. It's like their profiles in my head now have colors—their personalities, causes they believe in, struggles, priorities. And I love that. There's more depth to how I see them. How I know them.

And I realized that I missed that.

When working remote, we lose spontaneous conversations. The quick chat in the hallway, the life updates during lunch, the problems shared in the girls' washroom, the often-distracting afternoon banter while working.

Those conversations are building blocks—they give us a more complete picture of other people's lives, a deeper understanding of their stories, and stronger connections with them.

We need uninterrupted time for deep work, but we also build relationships by communicating with each other in a raw, human, spontaneous way.

I won't give up the work-from-home flexibility for those though. Working remote has winning perks. But it might be time to schedule more brunches.