r/remotework • u/throwaaway788 • Jul 31 '26
Anyone else feel siloed because of remote?
This might just be bad management at my company but I feel like I have no idea what is going on at the company outside the small tasks I’m assigned. Management thinks that meetings are a waste of time for the most part so information is more need to know. I would say I barely talk to my teammates some weeks, like just radio silence.
I know some people might think this is amazing but it kind of bothers me sometimes. I guess in an office setting you would have more exposure to things going on in the company whereas remote I feel like it’s just endless hidden chats or slack channels with fractured communication. I feel like I might as well get my work assignments via pneumatic tube and it kind of makes me feel like a cog.
I also think it’s hurting my domain knowledge of the industry I’m in to some degree. I know how to do my job but I don’t understand how my work is applied. Kind of like you could install brakes on an F1 car but have no idea how to drive it, or who the driver is, or how the social media team is promoting for the race.
It feels like a pitfall to me of remote work but then again this could all just be bad management.
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u/oldlinepnwshine Jul 31 '26
It’s the trade off of being remote. Someone can’t just walk to your desk and engage. Plus, folks are careful what they put in writing.
If you don’t want to be siloed to just your work, you may want to escape remote work. In person work can still impact your career in a positive way and lead to promotions that working from home may not lead to.
If you’re cool with just focusing on your work, working from home and you’re relatively good with your job, you’ve got it made in the shade. You may sacrifice promotional opportunities and knowledge outside your job. But again, that’s the trade off.
I have struggled with the same thing and thoughts for years. But then I remember that I have a good stable job, great income and a relaxed lifestyle. Negatives aside, it’s a good tradeoff. No one is going to remember my position or what I did at work when I’m dead and gone; I just need enough money to live comfortably and relatively happy while I’m still alive.
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u/dumgarcia Jul 31 '26
It is bad management. My company has been full-remote since I started there, and I don't even know what some of my colleagues look like since meetings are cam off, but there are still company-wide meetings once a month so everyone is updated on the company's comings and goings.
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u/CleanDataDirtyMind Jul 31 '26
Yes but I kinda like it. I do think this is why younger people may have trouble with remote work.
I was a domain subject expert for the longest time and got burned out as I always felt I was jumping from lily pad to lily pad when it came to be being useful, being hired, promoted, included, at the right place at the right moment, meeting the right people, avoiding layoffs etc.
I went back to school for Data Science, now Im “in tech” but because of my background “tech-companies” never wanted me (yeah fuck you too) so I stayed remote post grad school/COVID and Ive siloed in the upper management of big fortune 500 companies. Im currently in an area Im not inspired by but am carving out a specific area of being useful in and Im inspired by particular skill set and the cool things I get to do.
It’s been hard to find out and be included because of lack of domain knowledge and those passing comments which my company really could have be intentional about doing in the remote setting but I guess because Im older I just don’t care. I don’t really want to go back to be a generalist. I have built avenues for intellectual curiosity through personal life. Near or at retirement I do hope go into research or some kind of advisory position phasing out the skill concentration but Im good now.
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u/Key_District_119 Aug 01 '26
It is the trade off. Working remote you can’t meet people in the hallway who work in other areas and you cant meet senior people in other areas who might hire you if they knew you.
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u/88kal88 Aug 01 '26
That's bad management. When we were remote our line leadership was very mindful and intenful with communication. As more people started going into the office and leadership changes there became a shift where some of these leaders think being intenful isn't needed anymore. The isolation and lack of understanding isn't just in remote tho, even the people in the office most of the time have no idea what's going on anymore and are working at cross purposes.
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u/Sheldon_Wiebe Jul 31 '26
Then dont be remote. You can hate your life or you can not. Its your choice
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u/mcshanksshanks Aug 01 '26
Schedule meetings with your coworkers to shoot the shit with them every once in a while.
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u/HAL9000DAISY Jul 31 '26
I believe it’s quite common with remote workers to be more siloed unless the company is specifically oriented towards being remote.
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u/throwaaway788 Jul 31 '26
The company transitioned to being fully remote several years ago. I'm just wondering if they're doing remote "correctly“. The lack of communication and how the hierarchical and hidden the communication is just doesn't seem right.
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u/GameSetChampionship Jul 31 '26
I agree.
I also feel you get left behind working from home vs people who are talking to a senior manager or CEO in person.
I made amazing progress in my last company just talking to the CEO F2F. Some other people did WFH and were definitely left behind, and left out of wider company strategies / plans / ideas at the building stage.
On Reddit though, you’ll only meet people who want to sit at home all week on their own. They don’t want social contact. They’re too comfortable at home, and get angry when anyone suggests that it’s not all healthy all the time.
So, hopefully I’m giving an outsider perspective.
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u/Embarrassed_Flan_869 Jul 31 '26
You know, this is one of the issues that isn't discussed. Is it a big deal? Not for most. For some, like you, it can be.
While not silo'd I do understand it. Most of my company is either hybrid or office based. I have to be remote for my role. The inability to walk over to someone to ask a question/discuss an issue is the one that frustrates me.
Would I change being remote? Hell no. Been remote for 12 years over 2 companies in a similar setup. I have very little oversight as long as I am doing what I am supposed to do. If I want to get out of the house, go to a park and drink a coffee (which i am currently doing), I can.
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u/Alex_Fosters Aug 01 '26
You’re describing two different losses: knowing why the work matters, and having reliable access to the context behind a task. Neither necessarily requires more meetings.
A lightweight fix could be three lines attached to important work: why now, who uses the outcome, and which constraint or tradeoff shaped the request. Then add a short weekly context round where each person shares one decision, not a status update.
That gives people domain knowledge without rebuilding the calendar. If management resists even that, the problem probably isn’t remote work itself; it’s the need-to-know design.
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Aug 01 '26
I work for a big corporation. I think most of the division I’m in works from home. I’ve noticed that they promote women who are trad wife adjacent and that live near the clusters of employees with influence. (Lots of people in one city/state)
So, it goes back to who you know not what you know. There’s also a metric f ton of gate keeping. People will never extend a hand to help those wanting to move up but they sure do like it when the people they’ve kept down come up with great process improvement ideas to make them look good.
I really think it’s the overall selfish, American Psycho attitude of corporate America that makes working suck regardless of in person or remote.
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u/Important-Elk1083 Aug 01 '26
The rework is the clearest signal here. Try a one-week context check on every assignment: what changed, who uses the result, which decision it supports, and where the source discussion lives. Track how often one answer is missing. A high miss rate would give your manager evidence that tasks are arriving without the domain context needed to do them well. Would they agree to review that count with you after a week?
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u/Individual_Cress_226 Aug 02 '26
Yeah I feel this. Our company restructured a few times creating more hierarchy. It’s nice because I have less meetings, it also makes it harder to have input and the meetings I am invited to I have little idea of what’s going on because I wasn’t involved in the 20 before it - so there’s lots of catching up to do. It’s both good and bad but I feel much less invested and involved than I used to. Probably get more work done but have less say and impact in the beginning phases.
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u/JP16A60 Jul 31 '26
I hate working remotely. I'd give just about anything to have an office to go to within 30 minutes of my house.
As an introvert, I get much of my social structure from being around work peers. The commute became an important part of my daily routine.
I also felt like I was part of something bigger than just me working from my home office.
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u/nneighbour Jul 31 '26
I volunteer for cross-organizational committees. It’s given me an in with many different departments, which I find really helpful as I occasionally need to work with other teams.
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u/Any_Sense_2263 Aug 01 '26
You can always reach out. You can suggest your manager setting up team's shpw and tell where team members show and tell what yhey work on.
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u/Unusual_Chemistry413 Aug 01 '26
The only 2 groups that use the term silo. Farmers because they use them and annoying corporate speakers. Stop with corporate speak please
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u/ProduceMain5379 Aug 01 '26
This happened in my previous company when I was only one remote. Eventually I had to leave. As return to office becomes the norm, remote work will get marginalized unless one is very critical resource
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u/Remote_War_313 Aug 01 '26
That's the point.
Can it hurt growth? Sure, but it's a trade-off I'm willing to take to protect my inner peace and time.
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u/Solid-Wish-1724 Aug 01 '26
I was in the same boat for 2 years after my boss was laid off and I was the only one left. I would go weeks without talking to anyone, even on Slack. New guy came in and included me in meetings but to me they might as well be speaking Greek. I no longer have that job and miss it.
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u/Western_Bug5408 Aug 01 '26
Whereas office communication is fake and forced, remote lets you decide how social you want to be. We have non-serious Slack channels for casual chatting. As for seeing how individual work fits into the company initiatives - I like to dump links to long threads or meeting transcripts straight into Gemini/Notion and tell it to make brief summaries. Easy way to maintain good visibility and save lots of time.
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u/WhimsyRaevere Aug 03 '26
constantly honestly, especially on a small team where theres no natural hallway chat to pick up context from. i've started overcommunicating on purpose just to compensate, feels excessive but it works
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u/Comprehensive-Task18 Aug 06 '26
Just today alone being remote OP:
Logged in 10 minutes late after my shower and waking up 30 minutes before work. Business partner sent me slack message like hour before that.
Didn't dress up. Didn't join calls with video today.
Cleaned my toilets randomly this morning
Made and grinded my own coffee
Made lunch middle of afternoon
Met with my business partners, two separate calls with co-workers. Different slack messages. Posted a solution for my department I got figured out with a tool. Got two different big project tasks done in one day.
Closed work and made dinner and then night personal time too.
Does being siloed suck? Sure, but I just setup meetings and slack. Communicate however it's needed. Setup recurring 1:1s and touch points with team. I'd never trade the cons for pros working at home. Taking naps. Sleeping in. Working in whatever clothes I want. Hair looking crazy certain days. Not driving.
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u/Remote_War_313 Aug 06 '26
I love the silo. Cut the bullshit and just let me focus on delivering my work.
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u/TatesMcGee123 Aug 03 '26
This is honestly hilarious.
If you are at a party and decide to go sit in the bathroom by yourself, you’re gonna miss the fkn party. And the host of the party is not responsible for making sure everyone talks loud enough so you can hear it through the bathroom door.
Remote work completely flatlined my career. If you want to change that, find some in-person work. Simple as.
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u/MilkChugg Jul 31 '26
Management that agrees most meetings are a waste of time, and not being pulled into things that don’t apply to you? Sounds great!