Yes, You Can Still Make Friends at Work If Youre Remote Heres How. Poole College of Management NC State University

We tried to invite people over every three to four weeks, but people were always busy or tired. From all the relationships I tried to build in Denver, no one was asking for my phone number or inviting me to meet up; it was always me communicating to see if we could sit down and talk. In Atlanta, I’d been able to meet and talk to people who would share their struggles and life with me —  as much as I shared with them. Employment statistics show that 5.9% of women worked multiple jobs in October, compared with 4.7% of men.

She always starts her weekly staff meetings with a different icebreaker question. Companies across the United States are delaying their back-to-the-office dates. And a recent McKinsey report says that percent of the workforces in advanced economies could work from home between three and five days a week without a loss of productivity. Just because you’re in the market for new friends doesn’t mean your colleagues are, Duffy says. Give them their space, and consider connecting with colleagues who are more public and open to interacting on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and beyond. That colleague who’s always sharing recipes and photos of the gorgeous meals they make on their personal blog will probably appreciate your likes and comments on their posts.

Remote workers are more likely to take a second job

If you’d like to improve your new employee onboarding program or help employees develop a better sense of camaraderie and collaboration, we can help. Contact us to learn about our training programs for remote supervisors and employees. Whatever you do, don’t https://remotemode.net/blog/tips-on-how-to-make-friends-when-you-work-from-home/ shut down or give up on them, but don’t badger them for time. Join discussions in off-topic channels on Slack or the collaboration platform your association uses as a virtual watercooler. Be curious about others—without acting stalkerish, of course.

• If you’d like to improve your new employee onboarding program or help employees develop a better sense of camaraderie and collaboration, we can help.
• Even if it gets you out of the house, it’s a step in the right direction.
• If someone isn’t interested in chatting about anything beyond the project at hand, give them space and introduce yourself to another colleague.

Sometimes, it’s the easiest and most obvious things that work better than others. Reddit is a great source to find an open mic night in your area, and even if you don’t want to display your talent (or lack thereof), people are genuinely friendly and willing to talk to you. While Facebook is a source for these groups, more active interest groups appear on Reddit or Meetup.com. All you need to do is sign up, search for the hobby or activity that you like to do, and go to one of their meetups.

How Remote Workers Make Work Friends

That brings with it plenty of advantages, but also a few challenges, such as the need to stay motivated and on task when there are no colleagues around and so many distractions just a click away. At Atlassian, some teams even have a virtual messy-desk faceoff in Slack every week. You can learn about someone by seeing what objects they have sitting in front of them all day. If everyone shares pet photos in a Slack channel, consider posting one of your super cute pup. If someone asks for travel advice from a place you know well, share your tips. If you have the best recipe for lasagna or blueberry pie, share it, maybe with a photo from the last time you made it.

If you’re already close with your colleagues, it’s easy just to WhatsApp, message on social media or chat on Google Hangouts when working remotely. But it can be more intimidating https://remotemode.net/ if you don’t know your co-workers as well. We often think likable people are funny or smart or charismatic, but the secret to being likable is actually to like people.