What Remote Work Does to Companies (Morning Brew)

If it feels like you haven’t caught up with anyone on your company’s sales team in months, you’re not alone. Remote work is causing companies to become islands of business units with few connections between them, according to a new study from Microsoft researchers. The study, which explored the communication patterns of more than 61,000 Microsoft employees during the Covid-19 pandemic, found a significant decrease in collaboration between teams, causing networks to become “static and siloed, with fewer bridges between the disparate parts.” The researchers also found a decrease in “synchronous” communication (meetings, video calls) and an increase in “asynchronous” communication (emails, instant messages). Why it matters: Less interaction across teams may lead to less new information shared, especially complex ideas. Zoom out: The research was published as most of the country’s biggest tech companies push off a return to the office in light of the Delta variant. Microsoft itself just announced it will postpone its office return date indefinitely.