Microsoft today has unveiled a solution to this problem that begins rolling out in 2022: Mesh for Microsoft Teams. Too many people, too much of the time, are a static picture or bubble with initials. But the video option can be awkward and binary – on or off. Ongoing studies in Microsoft’s research organization prove this out: people feel more present and engaged in meetings when everyone turns on their video cameras, for example. In other words, the ability to work from anywhere and connect with colleagues online is awesome, but remote meetings can feel impersonal and lack the small moments that build relationships and careers. They miss the body language from across the conference room table that says things that can’t be said. They miss hallway moments, kitchen catch-ups and chance encounters. More than a year and a half into a global pandemic that forced workers around the world to abandon their offices and learn to collaborate online, Microsoft productivity experts have observed two trends: remote workers are far more efficient than most business leaders ever imagined, and they miss each other.
