I had been working at my first corporate job for 3 years when the world transitioned to hybrid and remote settings. All of the in-person norms, processes, and standards that had been hard-wired into my brain were suddenly flipped on their heads.
In the beginning of my experience with remote work I did my best to fully replicate my in-office routines, many of which were completely possible thanks to conferencing technologies and instant messaging. Regularly scheduled in-person meetings moved online, and emails continued to be emails.
However, there was one aspect that I found myself unable to reproduce; at work I was part of a small, tight knit team that sat together in close proximity at the office. Multiple times throughout the day, this proximity allowed us to ‘pow-wow’ on demand, quickly running ideas by each other and rapidly collaborating ad hoc.
I didn’t realize how valuable these fluid, impromptu moments were to my overall success and comfort at work until the sudden shift to being remote. Seemingly overnight, I was unable to simply turn around and get 10 seconds worth of feedback from my colleagues, but instead found myself scheduling 30 minute meetings that felt way too formal for the task.
These are the thoughts that motivate me while working at Culturora as we focus on re-sparking serendipity in this hybrid and remote world that we’ve found ourselves in. If you’re excited about rekindling these moments as well, join us on our journey into the future of work!
