Finding your work people.
When Excel skills forge deeper connections than virtual happy hours.
Every morning, countless professionals across America perform the same ritual: they drag themselves to their home office (or, let's be honest, their kitchen table), fire up their laptops, and prepare to spend another day as a digital ghost haunting their own career.
For those unfamiliar, remote work initially seemed to offer freedom and authenticity, embracing sweatpants diplomacy and removing office politics.
However, it led to the odd experience of knowing your colleagues' virtual backgrounds more intimately than their real personalities.
The modern workplace has somehow mastered the art of keeping people simultaneously hyper-connected and profoundly alone. We've invented dozens of digital communication tools, yet we somehow find ourselves longing for genuine connections that don't require unmuting or remembering to turn off a filter that transforms you into a potato mid-presentation.
Disconnected Reality
For years, I navigated the strange limbo of joining new teams virtually, where months would pass before meeting a single coworker in person. Those online happy hours that once seemed like a pandemic lifeline gradually faded into awkward calendar invites that everyone secretly hoped would be canceled.
Finding your people became an archeological expedition – digging through organizational charts and Teams (or for you fortunate souls - Slack) channels, hoping to uncover someone, anyone, with whom you might actually connect beyond discussing quarterly targets.
And yet, despite the sea of disconnection, there are islands of authentic engagement to be found. The challenge isn't just finding those islands but recognizing when you've landed on one. Sometimes, the moment of connection isn't dramatic - it doesn't announce itself with fanfare. It might even arrive disguised as something else entirely, such as…a presentation about Excel formulas.
When Everything Changed
My first memory of finding the right team – a group I still feel deeply connected to years later – came during what could have been just another forgettable introduction presentation. We were small back then, with around 15 people (later growing to about 30). After spending minimal time with a few colleagues, I was asked to introduce myself.
Having survived years of stuffy corporate environments, I decided to step outside my comfort zone. Instead of the standard "my background is in X and I'm excited to leverage synergies," I delivered what amounted to an educational presentation on myself, showcasing what was arguably my nerdiest superpower: advanced Excel skills. Complete with formulas, pivot tables, and yes, probably putting a few teammates to sleep.
But what happened next changed everything.
For weeks afterward, different team members reached out – not just with polite welcome messages, but genuinely trying to connect. They asked for Excel help (which, let's be honest, made my inner data nerd absolutely giddy). That simple, authentic presentation – showing my real self rather than some polished professional persona – had somehow baked me into the team fabric.
Small Steps Through The Professional Wilderness
Here's the thing about feeling disconnected at work – it rarely transforms overnight.
No fairy god-mentor appears to wave their magic wand and suddenly make your workplace feel like home. Instead, it's about taking small, intentional steps when you're stuck in that professional purgatory.
When you feel untethered, look for the bright spots - those people who seem to have maintained their humanity despite corporate gravity. Maybe it's the colleague who always adds a genuinely funny comment in team meetings or the person who remembers to ask about your weekend and actually listens to your answer.
Become the Excel mentor. Find the one meeting you don't dread and figure out why. Say yes to that slightly awkward after-work thing. Ask for help, even when you could figure it out yourself (people tend to like you more when they've helped you – it's called the Ben Franklin effect).
The colleagues who become confidants, mentors, and friends are the ones who've seen you mess up a presentation and helped you laugh about it afterward. They're the ones who know about your irrational hatred of Comic Sans and your equally irrational love of color-coded spreadsheets.
For those feeling like workplace nomads, there is hope. Your people are out there. Finding them requires being brave enough to be slightly imperfect and to show enthusiasm when corporate culture rewards cool detachment.
What’s the reward? A work experience that doesn't just advance your career but enriches your life.
Choose the bright spots.
Choose your people.
The rest will follow.
Until next week,
Mike @ Product Party
Want to connect? Send me a message LinkedIn or Bluesky.
PS I've recently started exploring partnerships with services my readers might find valuable. Privacy tools like Optery are essential in today's data-hungry world for removing personal info from broker sites. Check out my referral link to take control of your online presence: Link to Optery
