Now with more companies switching to remote work, it is getting harder to connect with your coworkers. There are many different reasons why there is a rise in remote work, and it has benefits and downsides to it also. The screens act as a barrier for developing relationships, and it can be discouraging for people who are new to working from anywhere.
Without the close desks and shared spaces, there is a rise in people feeling disconnected to the people they are working alongside with. Coworkers are reduced to profile pictures on screens, and asynchronous text messages. It could seem that there are more remote work challenges than benefits, but there are opportunities to improve company culture if you put in the work to get there.
Getting to know your coworkers on a personal level is a great way to break the barrier. There are ways to have virtual water-cooler conversations. Even something as simple as a personal profile page can humanize the distributed team. Teams can have informal meetings where instead of discussing work, they take the time to communicate and get to know each other.
Friday has icebreakers, where you can answer fun questions that let the team know more about you. There are questions you can choose from, but if you have your own ideas, you can write them out too. Here is a list of potential icebreaker questions you can use in our best icebreaker questions post.
There are a lot of different questions you can ask your team to get to know them. Here is a list of questions you can ask depending on the topic.
Here is a list of professional questions that would be beneficial to ask your team.
Here is a list of personal questions to get to know your coworkers better.
Here is a list of fun questions to break the ice with your coworkers.
Friday is a great tool for building stronger relationships with your distributed team. On top of helping you stay productive with work routine templates and a daily planner, there are additional elements Friday has for encouraging water-cooler type conversations.
Learn and share interesting and fun information about your team. Use Friday’s icebreaker feature after completing work updates and routines. Some can be informative, and others can be completely random. This is a way to break some barriers and potentially start natural discussion if your coworkers have similar interests or are just intrigued.
Keep your team aligned. The Friday company handbook software allows you to come up with your own mission, vision, and values that are aligned with your company. New coworkers will be able to know what to expect and understand the direction of the company. It can help hold people accountable and see if they all follow the right track.