Stop Hiding Behind Zoom — the Best Ideas Are Formed From In-person Collaboration

When I look back at the last 20 (!) years of running my company, Jotform, one thing becomes crystal clear: My favorite memories are the times the whole team has been together in person. 

For a programmer and known introvert, this may come as a surprise. You’d probably think I’d be happiest cloistered indoors, alone with my code and coffee. But you’d be wrong. 

One of our most cherished traditions is what we call Jotformers Week, in which employees across nearly two dozen countries come together to collaborate, connect and take stock of what we’ve built, no Zoom link required. In addition to these retreats being tons of fun, we’ve also come up with some genuinely great ideas. And we collected the feedback from every participant after that week — with a Jotform, of course.

I’m an advocate for working in person because, in my experience, teams function best when they’re in the same room. But even among organizations for whom in-office work is the norm, there are plenty of reasons you may not see much of each other: different schedules, different offices, different time zones. Here’s why I think leaders should prioritize getting teams together, at least occasionally. 

Why we need to interact in person 

Humans are fundamentally social creatures, and right now, we’re living through something of an isolation crisis. Social media and increasingly, AI, create the impression of community, but in reality, they’re only making matters worse. In the U.S., about 1 in 3 adults reports feeling lonely, and roughly 1 in 4 lacks adequate social and emotional support. 

For many people, working from home exacerbates these feelings of disconnectedness. During the pandemic, I was glad to have had the tools necessary to enable our teams to WFH relatively seamlessly. I also saw how morale started to flag as kitchen tables and couches slowly morphed from ad hoc workspaces to permanent offices, and the line between being “on” and “off” dissolved beyond perceptibility. 

While having a well-rounded life is essential for human happiness, our work relationships are part of the equation — according to a study from YouGov, 76% of Americans say they’ve made at least one friend through work. 

But camaraderie is hard to forge in a Slack channel, or even during a supposedly fun team bonding exercise on Zoom. Anyone who attended a pandemic-era remote happy hour can attest that these interactions tend to be more draining than fulfilling. 

Real bonds form during those spontaneous moments that can only happen in person — side conversations after meetings, lunches at a favorite local spot and even over minor annoyances like a bad pot of coffee or a delayed morning commute. Those are the aspects of life that knit people together. 

The makings of a good gathering

While I am generally a fan of in-person work, I also believe it should be worth the time and effort people put into being there. Building a healthy office culture means creating an environment where people can thrive, not a barren cubicle where they dread spending eight (or more) hours each day. The same goes for any sort of in-person gathering. What are they getting out of it that’s not possible to achieve at home?

One thing I’ve learned over the years is that it’s important to mix people up — if everyone spends time only with their immediate team, you’ve essentially just recreated the office in a different location. I am a fan of cross-functional teams because I think that differences bring out the best in people. Conversations across disciplines may not happen naturally, so it’s important to engineer them. Seat people deliberately, and design sessions that require collaboration. 

You want to get the most out of your time together, but you don’t want to push people to exhaustion, either. Always leave room in the schedule for impromptu coffees or lunches that run a little long. After all, these are exactly the types of team-building opportunities you’re trying to facilitate — don’t bury them by over-planning every moment. 

In my opinion, remote work tools like Zoom and Slack can facilitate collaboration, but they shouldn’t replace in-person interactions completely. There’s plenty of evidence that face-to-face interactions don’t just generate goodwill and trust, they’re also important for creativity and innovation. By prioritizing getting people together, at least occasionally, you’re building a foundation that will strengthen everything else you do — including, and especially, the work you do apart.