How to debug distributed teamwork, as suggested by new research

Organic, spontaneous exposure to other people’s work may lead to greater innovation. When working remotely, you may need to facilitate such interactions.

Atlassian surveyed 1,000 remote workers to get their take on how a distributed office affects their work-life. The results suggest that working from home presents benefits and drawbacks. Employees report longer periods of “heads-down work,” which helps them feel more effective.

One of the more troubling findings is that employees working from home have greater motivation to perform low-stress, structured, routine tasks than to take on complex tasks that require collaboration. People new to the work-from-home structure seem most likely to avoid complicated work. It may be a natural reaction to uncertain times, or it could result from fewer interactions with coworkers.

Unplanned interactions are a major benefit of occupying the same physical space as your coworkers. Serendipitous encounters are often the building blocks of innovation, in that constructive feedback from diverse sources and unlikely collaborations lead to new ideas.

Using tools like Miro (mind maps), ...