How do you feel about the serendipity of conversations at work, in a remote-first environment!

@aaronoleary Do you really think so? Which tools?

@fares_aktouf One that comes to mind is Donut!

@aaronoleary I guess it's a nice messaging tool. But honestly! At best it would have the same impact as any video, You honestly think that a video or other messenger can expect 80% of the result of the natural conversation? Honestly !

@cat_hicks In your case, I understand, don't you think that meeting your colleagues once or twice a month would be beneficial for you? But in my case, I find it hard to do without others, it's with them that I find inspiration, energy to surpass myself when I'm exhausted, other times the motivation ... Or even the courage to leave my job.

@fares_aktouf I have great collaboration with my team online. And meeting with my team in person would be impossible as were in France NYC SF LA and a few other places. We as a company we’re built from the ground up for remote collaboration

@julian_aubourg Coffee breaks happen because we work in the same place with similar hours. Technically, they happen more because of the work structure than by serendipity. Recreating similar structure around breaks (ie. scheduling remote coffee breaks) seems like the closest thing you can get. I think one real difference is that IRL people will not mind disturbing you to ask for a coffee, which they're less likely do online. There is however a challenge in creating a remote-first culture (and tooling) where people have the platform to create informal moments on a whim.

@strift I think that's part of the issue. The overall situation is physically different too. You have to sit in front of your screen for a remote coffee break while the in-person one can be organic and does not need planning.

@strift @julian_aubourg Yes!!! without forgetting all those other little moments of sharing, like: the arrival or the departure of the office, the cigarette break, the lunch break, the after work...

@julian_aubourg the expectation my breaks should be used for work drove me mad. I needed them to keep from losing my mind

@ashrahman I'm not talking about friendship, but more about a relationship with a certain complicity and a certain level of confidence

Yep, that can be complicated in a virtual environment. But we can look at gamers though, they stay connected in an interactive environment and often it turns out to be an effective IRL relation.

@ashrahman @fares_aktouf I do agree with this reasoning. Gamers and real life replication like Second Life can seriously compete with real life. So, yes, a realistic metaverse could solve the problem, not those simplistic old-style characters Meta is doing right now for some hard to understand reason. People got very serious in SL, fall in love, married, done businesses, maintained and continued relationships for years, so yes, it can happen. If the environment simulates the real world with same sensorial stimulation, attachments and similar emotion evoking moments can happen.

@ashrahman @cristinaimre As a former game player, a universe like world of warcraft or other MMOs have convinced me that a virtual universe can do a lot, is it the only solution? I ask myself a strange question with all the feedback we have the chance to have on this subject. The human being needs human relations and is conscious of it, why do they strive to develop things to detach themselves from it? (l'instant philo)

@cristinaimre @fares_aktouf until we are getting a true VR experience like the movie The Zero Theorem - I guess games are the closest thing we have right now! 💡

@david_t_kim Is there a way to have both? I'm thinking of trying to set one date per month where each employee is in physical contact with his or her colleagues

@fares_aktouf Great intention, but little concerned about two things. 1. Would it be forced? If so, it might get stagnant in terms of frequency when work gets busy 2. Might only meet up with people that they are familiar with. Otherwise, it's a noble effort! My company has implemented this with some success and failures.

@david_t_kim @fares_aktouf Thats how its being done at my office. Although ours is permanent wfh, we meet at a co-working space once or twice a month.

@david_t_kim @abid_unnisa beautiful, what results have you seen since the beginning of this measure?

@david_t_kim You're right, it's complicated. I want to set two dates per month where each employee is required to be physically present once (per month). But there are a lot of other parameters I need to consider.

@benjamin_arne Combining remote and desktop to create a hybrid model is probably the best solution, always keeping an agile aspect

@tinaciousz I understand you perfectly. It's true that there are advantages and disadvantages, but being able to keep this human relationship from time to time is essential. P.S. Congratulations for your baby