Ask HN: Anyone else miss spontaneous conversations at work?

[happycipher]

Considering it's been 6 months since most office workers have started WFH, this is a question I've been thinking on.

Of course, remote work has many benefits such as cutting down on commute times, being able to work at your own schedule, and less office distractions. But one thing I find sorely lacking & so far irreplaceable is the spontaneous interactions that used to happen. You know, water cooler talk, catching up with a friend you run into, side conversations before a meeting etc.

I was wondering if there's a way to build an app that can help you "bump into" your coworkers again, only when you're on break, but I was curious if people even had this problem in the first place?

[rossdavidh]

First of all, the answer to your question is "yes". Secondly, I think the inherent low-bandwidth nature of online communication, is going to make it hard to replace. Third, one aspect of conversations IRL, is that they are NOT taking place on the computer, where you work (for many jobs). This very fact, is important psychologically. The fact that any online alternative is taking place in the same medium (staring at a screen) as work, will make it difficult to avoid either: 1) too much distraction to get work done, or 2) too little "reason" to go there, to have spontaneous conversations

So, it sounds like I'm being very negative, but if you manage to find a way around these problems, it would be an impressive feat of both technology and psychology. Good luck!

[happycipher]

Thanks for the feedback, it's very help and constructive! Regarding the 3rd point about screen fatigue on the computer, would a lower bandwidth (ie phone call or audio), help mitigate that issue? Although lacking non-verbal body cues, I have found 1:1 phone calls to be somewhat nice for long calls, usually bc I'm hands free (but unsure how it would apply in a short spontaneous conversation).

Again, thanks for your thoughts!

[fenici]

Nope, I've never really been into it but I do try and make an effort with my colleagues who might be struggling / in a chatty mood. If I'm in a one on one chat / conversation with someone I like to ask them how they've been & what's going on. An extension/plugin for an existing tool might be interesting e.g. teams, slack etc. I tend to agree with other comments about an app not being able to replace the spontaneous in-person conversation we're talking about though.

[marketgod]

I used to be a wage worker however when I transitioned to this lifestyle it was weird. Sitting in front of a screen all day was annoying.

Going to the gym helped. Happy hour at the bar. Teaching others are 3 of the best ways I found to add value.

But stop focusing on work conversations and focus on personal conversations. In my experience once you stop working with those people you won't hear from them because at work a lot of people present a false front because of the expectations required.

I.e. Focus on your conversations in general and it will take care of the lack of work conversations. You aren't really friends in many cases.

[happycipher]

Hacked up a landing page to outline the idea better if the problem sounds interesting, https://trychitchat.web.app/ . Would love to hear everyone's thoughts!

P.S. https://uselander.xyz/ is a fantastic way to hack up landing page to explain your idea. Super clean format, GUI if you just want to change text, and you can download the source code if you want to go deeper. No association to them, just a big fan.

[FailMore]

I built a social network for conversations during the lonely lockdown: https://taaalk.co. The conversations are typically about a subject (e.g. mental health, bitcoin, etc.). Anyone can start one and/or you can leave your details to Taaalk with others/request to Taaalk with someone who has left their details.

Please enjoy :). Always interested in feedback. Email in bio.

[kleer001]

Not me, not exactly. I do miss the additional social interaction as-such, you know, for its own sake. But not really the conversations. If that makes sense. I'm pretty introverted (hence the interest in computer stuff), but I'm still human.