[PragmaticPulp]

> The problem with in-office socialization is that you have to socialize with people you might not particularly like

This is actually a problem with remote companies.

It's really easy for teams to silo themselves away in private chat channels and form exclusionary cliques. It's fun for those in the inner circle, but it's miserable for newcomers and anyone else trying to get work done without being part of the in-group for a particular project.

Obviously the same dynamics can play out in a real office, too, but it happens much more frequently when it only takes a few clicks to make it happen. People are much more likely to be mean to each other when it's just a screen name on your computer rather than the real person you have to see every day.

[greedo]

How is this any different than office based companies? My team has multiple cliques; the coffee bros and the vape bros. The Windows admins and the *nix admins. The sports fans and the sportsball haters. The desk lunch people and the restaurant eaters. Some of these overlap, but not always.

Now that we're remote, it's much easier. None of the high school bullshit. If you're on a project, you're assigned work and have project team mates if you get blocked. With daily standups (even for non-programming roles), it's pretty easy to see who's struggling with a story, who might need some help, and who's rocking just fine.