Remote work can narrow professional networks even when day-to-day activity looks healthy. Collaboration time with people outside a team can drop substantially, weakening access to new information such as leads on openings and visibility into projects that match skills. Because office interactions no longer happen automatically, networking requires deliberate actions like reaching out to someone in another department each week, joining meetings outside one’s group, or volunteering for cross-team projects. Remote work also reduces the number of new collaborators and the rate at which existing connections change, causing networks to stagnate. Serendipity must therefore be planned, such as by blocking time weekly for conversations that create new introductions and ideas.
"Remote work reduced the share of collaboration time employees spent with cross-group connections by roughly 25% compared to pre-pandemic levels. Those cross-group ties often carry new information, including leads on openings in another division or visibility into projects that need your skills. When those connections weaken, opportunities beyond your team become easier to miss."
"In an office, your network often grows through chance interactions. You run into someone in the hallway, overhear a conversation or get pulled into a spontaneous debate. Remote work erased many of those moments, and little replaced them. That means serendipity now has to be scheduled."
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