The Virtual Water Cooler

Due to recent world events, the number of remote employees at ReadMe has grown from 3 to most of us. Some people (hey introverts!) are content working from home all of the time, but others need the social aspect that only a water cooler (or the modern day equivalent: kombucha tap) can provide.

After just two days working from home—one of which was our normal “work from home Wednesday”—I was already starting to get cabin fever. So I posted this message in our slack channel:

If anyone is feeling a bit frustrated about working from home for consecutive days and wants to have some contact besides their cat, let me know and i’d be happy to have a group highfive at 9:30am PST! We can chat about work stuff, non-work stuff or whatever funny thing your cat has done today. Open to all!(Can you tell i’m getting a little bored of it already? haha)

The minutes rolled by, and only 3 measly reactions (👍)—was this an intention to join me? Or a pity “yeah I’ll keep you company”—I wasn’t sure.

The start time comes along, I’m on another call and someone who did not add a reaction asks for a link to the chat! Then, 5 minutes in we’re at 9 people! Huzzah!

The Virtual Water Cooler.

Eventually I had to duck out to join another meeting. I left the conversation going without me!

We asked the perma-remotes for their sanity tips, and they gladly obliged:

  • Make the effort—get up, get dressed, get showered.
  • Set boundaries in the home—have separation between sleeping areas, working areas and eating areas.
  • Don’t isolate yourself—reach out to people who you may not normally talk to.
  • Take breaks and get fresh air.
  • Don’t be ashamed to talk to your pet!

And, try the Virtual Water Cooler today!

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