Remote work has its perks. Working from your apartment or house means you can relax in PJs, you don’t have a commute, and you can snuggle with your pet for a quick mental health boost.

But working from home also means you miss out on spontaneous moments like laughing with coworkers about something crazy that happened in the lobby or eating lunch together at your favorite local cafe.

Remote work can feel isolating. But it doesn’t have to be. It is possible to feel connected and learn how to network remotely.

Let’s talk about how to stay connected and build community, even from behind a screen.

The Isolation of Remote Work

Ringover did a deep dive into loneliness at work and found that two-thirds of workers (67%) experience loneliness at work, and remote workers are most likely to feel that loneliness set in. Our May 2024 Pulse survey data agrees. The second highest stressor in our early career community was loneliness — second only to the stress of not feeling good enough.

Connecting with Coworkers

So how do you connect with your coworkers? How do you start to bring that feeling of community in order to combat remote work loneliness?

First, start with your team. Talk to your manager about your ideas to build connections on your team (after all, they might be feeling the same way and they don’t know what to do about it!). See if you can schedule a coffee chat or co-working session with them that occurs weekly.

If you’re programmers, see if any of your team would be down to do pair programming. This is where you essentially code together — one team member writes the code while the other looks for issues and errors! It’s a great way to connect.

Could you host a virtual trivia session or start a ‘weekly wins’ team chat?

You could even expand these coffee chats to include cross-team members or new hires. It’s a great way to build connections across your company.

One last, tiny, but significant way to connect with coworkers is to have your camera on during meetings. Yes, we understand that sometimes you don’t want to brush your hair in the morning, but it’s important for relationship building.

Networking Remotely

Of course, connection isn’t just about your coworkers — it’s about building a network.

Beyond your organization, how do you meet people in your field? How do you meet mentors? Thought leaders? Fellow engineers, data scientists, or product managers who get what it’s like to navigate the corporate day?

Join organizations (like RTC) that host events specifically around virtual networking and that have active communities! RTC, as an example, has two active Slack communities (one for students and one for early career members) and a whole host of networking, mentorship, and even just social opportunities for members to connect and grow. RTC member Lydia Chung says that, “RTC has wonderful events that helped me connect with other women in tech. When I was in Silicon Valley for my internship, I was away from all my family and friends from my university. RTC’s events in the Bay Area allowed me to make many new friends in the area, and I’ve also made lasting connections with people that I still talk to now.”

Socializing While Working Remotely

One of the most important things to do when working remotely is socializing outside of work. This means leaving the house/apartment and meeting people IRL. Even for introverts, these connections recharge you and prevent long-term burnout. According to a recent survey from ResumeBuilder, 1 in 4 remote workers have noted a decrease in social skills. This will eventually show up at work, and we don’t want that!

Some ways to socialize while working remotely are going to a co-working spot, a coffee shop, or even just the library to work. While you won’t really be social there, it is a chance to work around people and still flex some social muscles.

If you actually want to meet people and yap to your heart’s content, look into hobby groups! This could be anything from joining a run club (check out local coffee shops or running shoe stores!) or your library’s book club to attending a spoken word poetry jam at the local art gallery. Check out local grocery stores, coffee shops, and libraries — they often have corkboards with different events and meetups in the area.

Go out and do things! It’s hard (sometimes), but it’s so good for you.

You Can’t Just Escape the World

With remote work, sometimes it can be easy to just get into a routine in your house and rarely leave it (author’s note: as someone who works remotely, this has absolutely been me before), but it’s so important to build connections, remotely and in person.

If you’re not yet an RTC member and want to connect with other women in tech, join our 37,000+ community of women building meaningful connections, both online and IRL.

If you’re already an RTC member, let’s hear about some of the connections you’ve made through RTC—> share your favorite memory in the self-care Slack channel!