Remote work introduces new challenges to fostering a sense of belonging and cohesion among the tech community, driven by the need to rethink our ways of interacting.

Fewer random encounters at the office increases the risk of losing the bond between developers who don't work together in the same team.

On the other hand, remote work can also be seen as an enabler in building more connections and opportunities across different geographical sites when physical location is no longer a defining factor.

In the short term, the Covid-19 pandemic has made a lot of external community-building efforts challenging. Physical events have been reduced to a minimum, many local communities are hibernating, and online events haven't necessarily found their place and audience yet.

The latter will keep improving as active community members find their groove and gain more experience in facilitating things, but the first two may well have to wait until societies find a more permanent new normal where physical events are, once again, a viable and responsible option.

People want to feel connected with their peers and other people in their professional and social groups. For developers, that often means staying in touch with other developers, and typically there's a desire to also meet people from outside their own daily team. For people who work as the sole developer in a team, or as a freelancer, those connections are even more important.

Being an active and positive member of those communities as well as facilitating learning and discussion opportunities with other developers was already considered very important by many during regular circumstances. This is not likely to change as a result of the pandemic.