Remote Work: Beyond Zoom Calls
Remote work is not just “working from home”; it’s a fundamental shift in how we coordinate effort across space and time.
Key Challenges
- The Visibility Gap: How do you know what’s happening without tapping someone on the shoulder?
- Context Switching: The danger of being “always on” and interrupted by pings.
- Social Isolation: Building relationships without the watercooler.
- Time Zone Asymmetry: Handling teams spread across the globe.
Best Practices for Remote Teams
- Asynchronous First: Default to written communication (Slack, GitHub, Documentation) so work doesn’t stop when someone is offline.
- Intentional Over-communication: Narrate your work-in-progress to provide context.
- Office Hours: Dedicated times for sync collaboration to prevent constant interruptions.
- Work-Life Boundaries: Setting clear “out of office” expectations to prevent burnout.
Tools are Secondary
Remember: Slack, Jira, and Zoom are tools, not a strategy. A team with poor dynamics will still struggle even with the best tools.