The virtual office is here to stay

Note that "virtual office" in this case refers to Tandem's virtual office product, which is a sort of synchronous alternative to Slack. This article is more of a sales pitch than an honest discussion about remote work.

From their home page pitch:

> Spontaneous Conversations

> Time zones got you working late? See who is also in work mode and get quick feedback on your work.

When I'm working late, the last thing I want is for other people to pop in to spontaneous conversations with me.

This product may be great for teams that thrive with always-on collaboration and struggle to contain their collaboration to scheduled meetings, but I personally think that it's better to adapt working styles to remote working tools than to try to adapt the tools to imitate the office.

> True real-time Presence creates the feeling of being in an office with co-workers. You don't feel alone. You feel like you can talk to people as easily as turning your head (and, in a Virtual Office, you can).

I don't think I want to bring the open office concept into remote working. I'm sure this is a great product for certain teams, but this isn't really ideal for heads-down work.

WARNING: mildly-veiled ad for Tandem