Communications and collaboration is very important. However, "socializing" through Slack is simply just not the same as going out to lunch with a coworker, for example. Permanent remote work has a very detached feel to it, at least for me.
100% remote doesn't dictate how (or with who) you eat lunch.
For example, in the funnel of a customer visiting amazon to finally buying a product, amazon loses millions of dollars when initial page load times are 300ms slower within that funnel.
Any added friction between stages in a funnel will reduce the result at the end of the funnel. You add scheduling complexity, physical driving, distributed workforces, etc, and the number of shared lunches are going to drop super fast. Hell, you put 2 onsite employees in 2 different buildings on campus and their chance at a lunch together will drop.
If you or your company cares about in-person collaboration or socializing, you had better foster that behavior and not count on raw willpower to break out of the mold.
I don't like the office and work 100% remote but I remember collaboration scenarios that were easier and more natural in the office. Example...
- coworker and I discuss something at the cubicle or meeting room. Maybe use the whiteboard. It's now about noon so we agree to grab lunch at the cafeteria.
- continue discussion while walking toward the cafeteria
- continue at lunch table and/or walk back to desks
No coordination or invites on Zoom. Continued discussion in-real-life just flows while we're multitasking (i.e. getting some food) -- because we're both physically present.
So two remote workers getting in the car to meet for lunch isn't the same.
But at the moment, I'm not working on anything that requires that intense level of in-person collaboration described above -- so I'd rather remain working 100% at home.
The only thing besides work that could be comparable is a family. That's it's own challenge, though: easy to get cabin fever locked in with the same small group of people all the time.
Also I have a coworker in my team that is in the same city, but the opposite part, around 2 hour drive from me to his place. If we want to have lunch, we waste a lot of time (1 hour per direction for each of us); if we are in the office in the same day, there is zero cost.
I found small chat over lunch or a coffee break to be very effective in building relations with people you don't directly work with. This helped me many times in the past when I had to talk to someone and it was not a cold approach, so they made time to talk to me and help.
The fact that I don't even live in the same state or country as them anymore? When you hire people locally, you can exist in the same physical space as them. When you hire people remotely, and work for a remote startup, this isn't possible. I don't understand your question.
Nearly all of the meaningful interactions I have with friends require collocation.