Hey friends! So now that it’s November and we’re all done doing the Monster Mash, it’s socially acceptable to start playing holiday music, right? Actually don’t answer that.

Wednesday tunes: I’ll spare you from Michael Bublé’s holiday album (for now). But in honor of Britney’s new book, The Woman In Me, let’s throw it back to “Email My Heart,” a highly underrated song IMO.

—Rod

P.S. Our hearts go out to Matthew Perry’s family, friends, and fans this week. Only a talent as enormous as his could leave a whole this big. RIP.

How To Connect When Your Company Is Fully Remote

 question 
My team is fully remote. Everyone gets along really well, but we rarely chat about things outside of work (I tried to make a group chat for that and it flopped). And virtual happy hours are tough to organize across time zones. What ideas can I bring to the table to help us feel less siloed without eating up everyone’s work time? The desire from the entire team is definitely there, but the follow-through is a struggle. —L.

 answer 
I feel this one so deeply because I 1) want everyone to be my friend and 2) desperately crave someone to talk you-know-what about work with at all times. Two things you should do to get the vibes back up for your remote team:

• Get feedback. Ask your team what activities they’d be interested in participating in to connect more. A short survey with a few core Qs about their interests and ideas could be helpful. Everyone communicates differently, and this could help find a solution that works for as many teammates/potential besties as possible. 

• Consider your team’s current bandwidth. Maybe no one used the ~fUn ThInGs~ Slack channel because they can’t keep up with their work Slacks already. If you know it's busy season, hold off on organizing something right now. The last thing your coworker wants to get when they’re drowning in an Excel revisions due by EOD is an email with the subject line “URGENT: Help Us Pick the Theme for November Happy Hour!”

And hey, don’t take it personally if some ideas don’t stick. I think it’s really cool that you’re putting so much thought into creating a good vibe for your team. They’ll see that soon, too!

Got a Q for me to A? Submit yours here.

Sponsored by The Predictive Index

Stop managing like your grandparents did. Start leading like it’s the 21st century.

Employees don’t leave companies—they leave old school managers who don’t understand them. Give leaders the tools they need with PI’s leadership development software.

WorkDaze HQ Tips for Staying Connected

The WorkDaze team has always been remote, but our three different time zones have never stopped us from cultivating a well-connected, efficient, and fun (duh!) work environment. Some of our biggest tips for keeping the interpersonal ~connections ~ strong when we’re all over the country?

• Over communicate: To avoid playing telephone at work, we fill each other in on big projects, potential blockers, major schedule things, our review of the latest RHONY episode, etc. during our weekly team sync. Being on the same page helps us figure out any gaps in projects and allows us to ask for help if we need it. And it keeps everyone updated on everyone else’s goals!

• Talk it out: Since we can’t (annoyingly) tap each other on the shoulder at our desks to ask a Q, we’re usually pretty chill about hopping on a five-minute call to talk something through if our schedules permit. It definitely beats going back and forth on chat (and inevitably thinking your coworker is mad at you because they used a period instead of an exclamation point). But disclaimer: We by no means condone unsolicited video calling. That’s simply uncalled for.

• Have fun. Whether it’s posting in our “For Posterity” Slack channel that houses our funny baby photos and iconic screenshots or sharing cool content (books, tv, movies, articles) we’ve consumed that week…we try our best to press pause on the work and press play on other things outside of it that connect us. Because we’re people before we’re employees, and we know that’s a strength instead of a weakness.

Things To Send Your Work Besties

…while you listen to The Woman In Me on audiobook.

Are the teens…coming for my job? In this Vice article, teens give millennials career advice. And boy do they deliver! “You gotta suck it up. It’s part of having a job.” 😵‍💫

Okay so I guess as a newly converted Swiftie, I have to ask…what’s your favorite vault track on 1989 (Taylor’s Version)? Reply and let the team know. And while you’re at it…tell us your Era, too!

The Cut asked 100 people about their biggest anxieties, and it sure is a nice little reminder that we’re not alone out here.

That’s all folks! Only two more sleeps until Friday. See you next week!

IDK WHAT DO I KNOW?! LMAO!

—Rod