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.

Why Is Remote Work Loneliness So Common?

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. In RTC’s own May 2024 Pulse survey of early-career women in tech, loneliness ranked as the second-highest stressor among members, second only to not feeling good enough at work. That’s not an individual problem. It’s a structural one.

How Do You Connect with Coworkers When You’re Remote?

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? Here are some options!

  • Schedule one-on-one coffee chats with teammates you don’t work with directly
  • Suggest pair programming or co-working sessions for focused project work
  • Start or join a virtual team trivia or game session
  • Share weekly wins in your team Slack channel!
  • Join a cross-functional channel or ERG that gets you in front of people outside your immediate team
  • Default to camera on for smaller meetings when you can, it changes the dynamic

Networking Remotely

Of course, connection isn’t just about your coworker; 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.”

How Do You Socialize Outside Work When You’re Remote?

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 cork-boards 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 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 50,000+ community of technologists 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!