Virtual Coworking
Distributed work is awesome, but less face-to-face time can make it difficult to stay connected. Make distributed teamwork more human and effective with virtual coworking.
PREP TIME
5m
Run TIME
60m
Persons
2-10
5-second summary
- Bring your distributed team together to connect, collaborate, and make progress on their work – together.
- Shape the session to fit your team’s biggest needs, whether that’s sharing ideas and feedback, asking questions, or just quietly working.
- Make it a ritual to continue building trust and momentum.
WHAT YOU WILL NEED
- Video conferencing with screen sharing or meeting space
PLAY resources
How to do Virtual Coworking
Make distributed teamwork more human and effective.
What is virtual coworking?
Virtual coworking is an easy, low-pressure way to help your team connect, be productive, and collaborate without working shoulder-to-shoulder. It involves bringing your distributed team together for a virtual session without a formal agenda – just open time that can be used to share ideas and feedback, ask questions, or just quietly work with teammates “nearby.”
Why run the Virtual Coworking Play?
Virtual coworking can help:
- Unblock teammates and increase momentum toward team goals
- Create a safe, consistent space to ask questions and solicit help
- Build team connection and strengthen collaboration in the flow of work
- Integrate new team members faster so they can hit the ground running
When should you do virtual coworking?
Virtual coworking can be done anytime. It works especially well when the team is working up against a deadline, when they haven’t connected face-to-face as a group in a while, and when there’s been a recent change, like a new hire joining the team or after a re-organization.
5 benefits of virtual coworking
- Prioritize progress: Atlassian’s State of Teams research reveals that teams spend 50% more time in unnecessary meetings than making progress on high-priority work.
- Improve collaboration: Atlassian research found that 93% of executives believe their teams could deliver work twice as fast through more effective collaboration.
- Encourage communication: 74% of executives say lack of communication interferes with speed and quality of work.
- Drive team connection: Research has shown that 20% of workers say they don’t have enough time to connect with teammates.
- Empower teamwork: Researchers find that inclusive meetings unlock innovation, engagement and collective efficacy among diverse collaborators.
1. Rally the team
Est. time: 5 MIN
First, decide if your team would benefit from this ritual by polling the team or offering it as an option and seeing if anyone is interested.
If so, schedule time on the team’s calendar and provide context in your message and invitation about what to expect.
Tip: Customize it for your team
Do whatever gets people excited to show up! Call the session by a different name, ask if having light background music would be nice, or change up the format to work better for your team’s needs.
2. Open your first session
Est. time: 2 MIN
For subsequent sessions, you can skip this step.
Use this kickoff to set the tone and align on how your team will use the time together.
Start with the “why.” Open the session by sharing its purpose: to support one another, spark ideas, or simply work side by side in good company.
3. Set simple norms
Est. time: 2 min
Share a few simple agreements upfront to set expectations and maximize the time together.
For example:
- Everyone stays on the call for the hour. Solo work is totally fine. Just stay present and ready to chime in.
- For larger teams: If a side conversation starts, feel free to start breakout (like a Slack huddle), and rejoin the main room afterward.
- No burning topics? No problem. You’re still creating value by being a body double or virtual focus buddy.
- At the beginning of the session, ask the team to drop discussion topics or questions in the chat.
- It’s up to your team whether to leave cameras on or off. A few friendly faces can go a long way toward building motivation and connection.
4. Shape the session to fit your team’s needs
Est. time: 50 min
Utilize each virtual coworking session in the most helpful way for your team at that moment. The goal is to ritualize the time, not the format.
Here are a few ways you could guide the time:
- Work independently, but stay available: Heads-down time is welcome—just be ready to chime in when needed.
- Swap feedback: “How did that meeting go?” or “Anything we could do differently next time?”
- Share what you’re working on: “What’s top of mind this week?” or “How can I support your work?”
- Run wild ideas past the group: “Can I bounce something off you?” or “I’d love a gut check on my latest idea.”
- Break off into huddles for deeper dives: If a side conversation starts, split into a smaller group, then rejoin the main session when ready.
- Spark connection: Use the occasional icebreaker activity, or just chat about life outside work. It’s part of building trust.
Tip: Encourage open sharing
Run the Inclusive Meetings Play to create a safe environment where all team members, especially new hires, feel comfortable sharing their ideas and feedback.
Follow-up
Keep it consistent (and flexible)
If the session goes well, schedule a recurring virtual coworking session to make it a priority. Running these sessions every two weeks tends to be a good cadence for building trust and momentum, but use your judgement. The goal is to make this a habit that works for your team.
Variations
GSD Session
Block off time to get sh*t done! This session is focused on doing work, not just talking about it.
Still have questions?
Start a conversation with other Atlassian Team Playbook users, get support, or provide feedback.
Other plays you may like
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Weekly Team Updates
Share how things are going—without scheduling another meeting.
Meetings
Page-Led Meetings
Better meetings start with a page that outlines the purpose, expected outcomes, and key discussion points.
Communication
User Manual
Help your teammates understand how best to work with you.
Debrief
Retrospective
Provide a safe space to discuss what worked and what didn’t.
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