You Can Now Step Away In ‘Virtual Break Rooms’ For Some Time Out With Coworkers
Image via Hallway
The work-from-home method has taken over the world, as many practice social distancing amid the coronavirus outbreak. As a result, coworkers might feel disconnected from their teams, now that face-to-face chats and office banters are not possible.
A startup called Hallway is now stepping in to recreate the “break-room experience” for teammates to bond with each other via its new app for Slack users. The company was founded by Parthi Loganathan, a former product manager at Google; and Kunal Jasty, a former associate at private equity company Insight Partners.
They created the app so colleagues can schedule 10-minute video chats with each other to catch up and have small talks outside of work meetings.
You can easily add the Hallway app to Slack from the Hallway website or from the Slack app directory. However, you’ll require an admin’s approval if you do not have permission to include apps to your Slack workspace. Then, you’ll need to invite the Hallway bot to any Slack channel by typing “/invite @hallway”.
From there, the app will begin recurring 10-minute video calls scheduled to your liking. Users can change settings for timezones and specify the frequency of office breaks; just type in “/hallway” in a Slack channel and edit accordingly in the settings.
You can also use your own Zoom or Google Meet links with Hallway to hold timed breaks, though the tool works best within Hallway’s own video calls.
The service is currently free-of-charge for up to two Slack channels and comes with 10 scheduled video calls. To get more out of the Hallway service, you can upgrade to a subscription of US$30 per month, which offers unlimited timed video calls for up to five channels. Companies can also customize their plans by contacting the startup.
Attn Slack users: Hallway creates a ‘virtual break room’ for remote workers using scheduled video chats https://t.co/MC6zSEcola
— Tim Sanders (@sanderssays) April 14, 2020
[via TechCrunch, cover image via Hallway]
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