[skewart]

Honestly I wouldn’t worry too much about it. This article vastly overstates the benefits of offices. Sitting in an office every day doesn’t magically make mentorship opportunities appear. You need to proactively seek those out no matter where you’re working - ask questions, ask for advice - and if someone is willing to talk in person they’re almost certainly willing to talk over video chat too.

[P_I_Staker]

> and if someone is willing to talk in person they’re almost certainly willing to talk over video chat too.

Strongly disagree. The culture is different. I didn't always love other people popping by, but they could just do it in a way that isn't really done with voice chat where I work. It was probably better for the team that they did. I definitely found myself doing this too.

Unless you work somewhere with a policy to avoid stopping by someone's desk at all costs, unless you were sure the other person wanted it (in advance), it's not like voice calls at all. If I just call someone, I'm being pushy. I have to ask first, and even then I feel like I'm inconveniencing them. I'm certainly not going to just call people out of the blue, even ones I'm friendly with just to chit chat. In the office, we'd "run into each other", though.

[skewart]

Oh, I didn't mean just calling someone out of the blue. I meant that people would be willing to get on a video call if you set up a time to talk. I would typically message or email people first.

Heck even if we're in the same office I'd often ping someone on text chat before walking over to their desk - it's just less rude and intrusive than forcing them to stop what they're working on and demanding to talk with them right then. A lot of teams I've worked on have communicated heavily by text chat even if we're all sitting just a few feet away from each other.

Do you find people less willing to send a message on Slack or whatever chat app you're using than they are to physically stop by someone's desk?