The Problem Everyone Knows But Nobody Talks About
Sarah used to be your star project manager. She worked late, mentored new hires, and brought fresh ideas to every meeting. Now she does the bare minimum, skips optional video calls, and hasn’t contributed a new idea in months. She’s physically present in every virtual meeting but somehow absent from the fabric of your organization.
Sarah isn’t lazy or disengaged by choice. She’s experiencing what a staggering 73% of remote workers feel: isolation and disconnection from their teams, according to a 2023 survey by RSM International and the US Chamber of Commerce¹. This represents an increase from 68% the previous year, showing the problem is getting worse, not better.
This disconnection costs organizations billions in lost productivity, innovation, and talent retention. Yet most companies keep trying to solve it with more video calls, better chat tools, and virtual team-building exercises that miss the point entirely.
Why Video Calls Aren’t Enough
Most organizations assume that more video calls equal better team connection. But video calls optimized for information sharing actively work against the human connections that make teams thrive.
Think about your typical video calls. Everyone’s muted until they speak. Conversations feel stilted. People multitask. Eye contact is awkward. Small talk feels forced. By the time you cover the agenda, everyone’s mentally exhausted.
These calls accomplish their functional goals—information gets shared, decisions get made—but they don’t build the human connections that make people want to collaborate, innovate, or go the extra mile for each other.
Worse, video call fatigue makes people avoid the very interactions that could build stronger relationships. When every interaction feels like work, spontaneous connection disappears.
The Science Behind the Problem
Why do video calls feel so draining? It’s not just in your head—there’s actual science behind video call fatigue.
In normal conversation, we unconsciously process hundreds of nonverbal cues: micro-expressions, posture changes, spatial relationships. Video calls force our brains to work overtime processing artificial versions of these cues while missing crucial information that helps us build trust and connection.
Additionally, traditional video calls don’t activate the same reward centers in our brains that in-person interactions do. Our brains literally don’t get the neurological payoff from video meetings that they do from genuine human connection. This explains why you can have productive video meetings that still leave you feeling empty and disconnected.
The solution isn’t better video call technology—it’s a fundamentally different approach to how we use video for team connection.
What Works Instead: The Power of Story
Here’s what forward-thinking companies are discovering: when you shift from transactional video calls to storytelling-based video content, everything changes.
Stories activate different parts of our brains than presentations do. When someone shares their journey, challenges, or authentic experiences through video, viewers literally feel those emotions themselves. This creates genuine empathy and connection that no amount of functional video calls can replicate.
The most successful remote teams use video to share stories: how they solved a difficult problem, what they learned from a failure, why they’re passionate about a project, or what their workspace looks like. These authentic glimpses into each other’s experiences build the kind of human connection that makes people want to collaborate.
Companies Getting It Right
Smart organizations are moving beyond traditional video conferencing to create genuine connection through storytelling.
Microsoft discovered that narrative-driven team experiences created more genuine engagement than traditional virtual meetings. Instead of forcing connection through awkward video calls, they created shared experiences that teams could engage with together.
Airbnb uses authentic video storytelling for onboarding, featuring real employees sharing genuine experiences. New hires report feeling connected to the company culture before they’ve even met their teams in person.
These companies understand that connection happens through shared stories, not shared screens. They’ve moved from asking “How can we make video calls better?” to “How can we help our people understand each other as humans?”
How to Start Building Better Connections
Building genuine team connection through video storytelling doesn’t require complex production or expensive tools. It requires a shift in thinking from “How do we share information?” to “How do we help people understand each other?”
Start Simple:
- Ask team members to share 2-minute stories about their work, challenges, or wins
- Feature different employees’ workspaces, routines, or problem-solving approaches
- Create space for people to share what they’re learning or struggling with
- Document team celebrations, milestones, or behind-the-scenes moments
Focus on Authenticity: Good production quality shows respect for your audience, but perfect polish can feel artificial. The goal is genuine human connection, not Hollywood-level production value.
Make it Asynchronous: Unlike live video calls, story-based videos can be consumed when people are most receptive. This allows for deeper emotional processing without the pressure of real-time interaction.
Getting Started: A Practical Approach
You don’t need a complete video strategy overhaul to start building better team connections. Begin with small experiments that create opportunities for authentic human connection.
Week 1: Map the Disconnection Identify where people feel most isolated. Which teams rarely interact? Who are the natural storytellers on your team? What stories would help people understand each other better?
Week 2: Start Simple Ask different team members to create short videos sharing something personal about their work experience. This could be their workspace setup, a problem they solved, or what they’re excited about.
Week 3: Create Ritual Make storytelling a regular part of your team rhythm. Maybe it’s a weekly “behind the scenes” video, monthly team member spotlights, or quarterly celebration videos.
Week 4: Measure What Matters Track engagement, but more importantly, watch for signs of stronger team connection: increased collaboration, more voluntary participation, better cross-team communication.
Why This Actually Matters for Business
Connected teams aren’t just happier—they’re dramatically more productive. Companies with highly engaged employees see measurably better business results: higher profitability, lower turnover, better customer ratings, and faster innovation.
When people feel genuinely connected to their teammates, they collaborate more willingly, share ideas more freely, and go the extra mile more frequently. These behaviors compound into significant business advantages that are impossible to replicate through processes or tools alone.
Investment in genuine human connection isn’t a “nice to have”—it’s a competitive necessity in an economy where the best talent has choices and the best ideas come from collaboration.
The Path Forward
The future of remote work isn’t about finding the perfect video conferencing tool or scheduling more team meetings. It’s about recognizing that human connection happens through shared stories, not shared screens.
Organizations that understand this shift will build remote teams that are genuinely connected, highly collaborative, and deeply engaged. They’ll attract and retain the best talent because people want to work for companies where they feel seen, valued, and connected to something meaningful.
The technology for better video communication already exists. The frameworks for authentic storytelling are proven. The only question is whether your organization will continue trying to solve human connection problems with technical solutions, or whether you’ll start using technology to facilitate the human connections that make great teams possible.
The companies that get this right won’t just survive the future of work—they’ll define what it means to build genuine human connection in a digital world.
Remote work is here to stay. The question is whether your teams will feel like a collection of individuals working in isolation or a connected community working toward shared goals. The choice is yours, and it starts with how you help your people see each other as humans, not just faces on screens.