[qxf2]

I have been running a fully remote company for more than 5 years now. Some thoughts that have worked for me that are related to this guide:

a) Consistent timings - the employee choose their hours but they should try to keep it consistent through the week. This is a variation on the idea of fully flexible timings where people can work each day whenever they want.

b) We do pairing exercises (~1 hour spread over a week) to increase the 'socialize' component. The pairing can be as simple as two people (A,B) get together at the start of their day and update each other on their progress. End of the week, during the sprint call A gives B's update and vice versa. This helps break the ice because many of my engineers (and me) do not socialize unless there is work happening in the background.

c) Managers should understand that most people (in my experience) begin liking remote work and then start hating it somewhere between their 3rd and 6th month. People feel depressed and miss the environment of an office. I feel like managers should keep an eye out for this dip and assist early.

[simonbarker87]

How have you guys dealt with C? It’s definitely something I have felt and am currently pretty keen on getting back to the office even though it probably isn’t the best thing long or short term.

[qxf2]

I don't have a general solution. We warn all new hires about this problem when they start. Just knowing you will go through this phase is often useful in catching the problem early. We rely on the support structure of everyone who has gone through the pain recognizing the symptoms in others early. We try to infuse some change to the working pattern of the person - like increase the 1:1 communication or have them help someone else or make them present something at a virtual brownbag or teach something to the rest of the group. These tasks help to a certain extent because new people seem to feel good when they contribute to a group. But I don't think there is any easy way other than just accepting this is going to happen and that you need to experiment your way through this problem.

[simonbarker87]

Interesting, thanks