Corporate chats

Hygge Companies stick to asynchronous communication. This means that out of all the communication channels, they choose those where people don’t have to be present at the same time or in the same space, either physically or virtually.

However, some team-building interactions are meant to be synchronous, such as company chats. Element and Signal are good examples of secure chats. They are great team-building tools that enable water cooler-like conversations and calls. Unlike Slack channels, all conversations are end-to-end encrypted by default, so even your admins can’t see what you are talking about.

However, it is important to keep in mind the limitations. First, not everyone might be comfortable with the synchronous nature of an Element or Signal conversation. Second, things can and will get lost in these conversations. Don’t forget to be nice to each other and document all work-related decisions in the GitHub issue tracker.

Do:

• Send birthday wishes and celebrate other personal events.
• Brainstorm solutions to poorly defined problems.
• Share industry-related news.
• Upload photos from vacation and team meetups.
• Send reminders about team events and gatherings.
• Use GIFs and emojis.

Don’t:

• Collaborate on anything that can be done in an issue tracker.