Remote Work, Real Connections: Your Guide to Staying Connected

Remote work and mobile offices have become standard, offering flexibility and freedom in today's dynamic work environment. However, staying connected with colleagues and maintaining a sense of community can be challenging when you're not sharing the same physical space.

"Remote Work, Real Connections: Your Guide to Staying Connected" explores practical strategies and creative solutions to bridge the gap, ensuring you stay engaged, productive, and connected in a remote work world.

Reaching out and connecting to others can be good for your mental health. Whether you're a digital nomad, remote work veteran, or new to this way of working, this guide will help you build meaningful connections and thrive in the digital workspace.

Communication is Key

When it comes to the remote work world, communication can be the key to ensuring that you stay connected to others in your workplace. If you think about it, when you are working in the office, you can typically walk down the hall or look over your cubicle to ask another coworker a question or engage in conversation. When you are working remotely, you do not have the same luxury.

Working remotely does not mean all communication is cut off or limited to time in virtual meetings. It just means that it has to be done differently. Here are a few apps that can help you stay connected to your coworkers through communication.

• Slack
• Microsoft Teams 
• Skype
• Whatsapp
• Google Workspace/Chat
• Google Calendar
• Zoom
• Hive

Be Creative

One of the biggest challenges when working remotely is that some of the creativity you once had in the office can dissipate when you are more isolated. Because you are likely at home, you tend to take fewer breaks, have lunch at your desk, and spend less time finding ways to be creative.

It is important to ensure that creativity does not take a backseat to isolation in the remote work landscape. Here are some great ways to keep the creativity and fun of the office environment remotely. 

• Question of the Day (emails, Slack, or other communication tools)
• Monthly Company Challenges
• Theme Days (share on communication tool)
• Group Chats
• Virtual Coffee Breaks
• Remote Happy Hour (Microsoft Teams, Google Meet) 

Collaboration

In many cases, if you were working in person, you would collaborate with a coworker or many coworkers to complete a specific task. This does not have to end just because you cannot meet in person as you did before.

Using tools like Trello, Clickup, Slack, and Zoom is a way to continue collaborating with your team. These apps are also an excellent way to manage your project in real time so others can do their part.

Here are some ways that you can collaborate using these tools: 

• Use Trello to enter and move the project along to the next person.
• Set up a Slack channel to communicate with team members.
• Have a weekly Zoom call to make sure everyone is on the same page. 
• Brainstorm ideas with CkickUp Whiteboards
• Appoint a leader of the group to keep track of the various tools. 

Final Thoughts

Just because you are working remotely doesn't mean you have to disconnect from others. It is more important than ever to stay connected to other people to avoid feeling completely disconnected and lonely. Reach out to friends and colleagues – a simple chat can make a big difference!