*Virtual coffee time participants shown attending via Google Hangouts.*

Article by Katherine Shanahan, JCSDA Program Specialist

The changes and uncertainty of the past few weeks have proved to be challenging for everyone. On March 17th, UCAR/NCAR advised all of their employees to participate in mandatory telework to help flatten the curve and curb the spread of the virus. JCSDA employees sitting at locations outside of Boulder received similar instructions the following week. Through it all, the JCSDA community is going strong and standing together, providing support to each other wherever, and however, we can.

Operations at the JCSDA continue to hum along successfully from home offices, as core employees and in-kind collaborators find creative ways to connect with each other remotely and stay as productive as possible. We are now turning to Slack channels and Google Hangouts to stay connected and keep the positive communication flowing.

Conducting work meetings via Google Hangouts is not new for many of us at the JCSDA. Since partners, contributors, and employees are spread out nationally and internationally, we partake in remote meetings on a weekly basis. This familiarity has helped us to continue to effectively communicate now as we all call in from our homes.

*The team has a bit of a laugh during virtual coffee time on Google Hangouts. SOCA Team member Travis Sluka looks like Iron Man!*

A notorious highlight during regular workdays at the JCSDA is morning coffee time with the team. We’ve found that an unexpected, but very welcome, perk of the remote working requirement is the ability for core folks to join the daily festivities during our coffee time Hangouts link. We are excited to continue to explore fun activities to foster connectivity in the coming weeks.