What A Picture Taught Us About Virtual Work

When the image above debuted on our website last week, we were surprised (thrilled!) by how many of you saw significance well beyond our design intent. For those who missed the social posts, we will explain….

Virtual work led to higher individual productivity, better work-life balance and freedom to work from anywhere. Leaders who moved teams past a deficit-mindset (‘virtual cannot be as good as in-person’) and towards a benefit-mindset (‘virtual gives us new ways to understand each other’) have created expanding connection, commitment and trust.

In the image above, the iconic “Zoom meeting on a computer screen” image is shown to have both depth, possibility and synchronous engagement and discussion of ideas.

The six work environments in the picture reflect the diversity of spaces in which we work. Among the benefits of virtual work has been learning more about how our coworkers live and understanding them beyond their persona in an office.

The virtual Teamraderie experience depicted is happening across the globe at the same time — one colleague sips coffee near his dog, another has a sunny cityscape behind them, still another shows moons and stars to show nighttime. 

The woman to whom they are all paying attention — holding either an Academy Award or an oversized sports trophy — is bringing the team lessons from outside of the world of business. Virtual work created a new opportunity for inviting unique and exceptional people to join your team conversation.

We believe in the power of creating a sense of deep understanding and connection in a distributed team. Teamraderie virtual experiences are designed to cultivate more informal interactions, engagement and inspiration in teams. If you are looking to recreate the experience presented in this image for your team, we recommend using our Experience Finder to select the best option for your team (note: many teams start with experiences from “Bond & Connect” or “Discover and Inspire” categories). 

We appreciated the comments from hundreds of you who saw a more inclusive, engaged workplace — and who are moving your teams towards these norms in this new way of working.