alt Hacker NewsRemote doesn't need to be isolating. You can make friends with remote coworkers, but it requires a culture where jumping on a call to work things out is normalized.
I've found most work communication apps not to be very condusive to it, but Discord is pretty good.
Replies
You still sit at home, alone, in front of a screen to talk to these people. It's still really depressing.
I sincerely miss working in an office, but with my current job it would've been impossible anyway (everyone is remote in different countries). I've only once met some of my coworkers irl a few years ago when we went to a conference together.
Discord's killer feature is the "hangout" room.
You can see if people are in there and actively talking before you join and that alone encourages spontaneous drop ins.
Yea, you have to be proactive. I have friends with non-traditional work schedules to spend time with during the working hours when I take breaks from work. I go to coffee shops and make friends with the workers there. And I make sure to engage in social activities like group cycling. I love WFH but would never make it so I am sitting in front of my computer alone at home 40 hours a week.