Rekindling the Watercooler for Remote Teams

The shift to remote work has forced many teams to re-examine not just how they execute tasks, but how they maintain the social fabric that makes work enjoyable. For teams used to shared physical spaces, the daily interactions that build camaraderie—coffee breaks, impromptu desk chats, shared meals—don't happen organically when everyone is distributed.

While adapting workflows for the digital space is critical, it's just as important to intentionally recreate the social moments that make a group feel like a cohesive unit. The goal is to be deliberate about creating opportunities for connection, rather than letting them happen by chance.

Being Deliberate About Togetherness

When a team is suddenly remote, meetings without a clear agenda can seem like a waste of time. However, these less-formal syncs can transform into a valuable excuse to check in with one another on a personal level. Treating them as the primary channel for communication can help replace those casual office run-ins that are now impossible.

An effective first step is to get leadership aligned. When Figma's CEO gathered the company's managers early in its remote transition, they brainstormed ways to maintain closeness. Different teams offered their own tips, such as daily morning check-ins or virtual coffee chats. Creating a shared Slack channel for managers to exchange learnings and resources also helped establish a unified front, acknowledging that while approaches will differ per team, they are all facing the same challenges together.

Creating Moments of Joy and Connection

Beyond formal check-ins, it helps to build in moments of joy. This can take the form of optional team-wide activities, like virtual meetups for pet owners or group workouts. Even subtle adjustments to existing routines can have a significant impact.

Making full use of the chat features in video conferencing tools, for example, allows team members to applaud or ask questions during presentations, making the presenter feel seen. A simple ritual of turning on video cameras at the end of an All Hands, just to see colleagues' faces, can create a more intimate atmosphere than a list of names.

Some teams are finding success in making these sessions more interactive. For instance, one company turned its bi-weekly "Show and Tell" into an opportunity for everyone to share their favorite Zoom backgrounds halfway through the call—prompting a stream of images ranging from the Northern Lights to lighthearted memes. The company-wide Slack channel also tends to become more upbeat and emoji-filled, with daily prompts to spark conversation, such as an invitation to share the shows everyone planned to binge-watch over the weekend.

To preserve the tradition of pairing employees who might not otherwise interact, some teams use apps like Donut, which randomly matches colleagues and opens a direct Slack thread for them to connect. For those who miss the “walking 1:1,” a free alternative is to use Zoom or FaceTime to take a (socially-distanced) stroll around one's neighborhood while catching up with a teammate.

Bonding Through Shared Activities

Team bonding doesn't have to be a standalone meeting agenda item. It can also be woven into the work itself. Since Figma is a collaborative design tool, its community has created a number of activities designed to bridge the gap:

  • Figma Tennis: A playful exercise where teams "volley" images back and forth, building on each other's work to create something final that's a far cry from its starting point.
  • Trash Dinosaur: A team-building challenge to work together to build a dinosaur using five virtual pieces of trash.
  • Virtual bookshelf: An easy icebreaker where teammates can display their favorite books or share what they’re currently reading.
  • Word-guessing game: A Pictionary-inspired competition to test each other’s drawing skills.

These collaborative exercises work well as a quick five-minute warm-up for a meeting or a dedicated team-wide activity for the final ten minutes. When the distance between teammates starts to feel especially vast, it's often the simplest activities—the shared game or the silly prompt—that have the most power to make a distributed team feel close again.