I’d assume the parent comment is more interested in the in-person interaction than the content of small talk.

Like enum said, I want the face-to-face interaction. Not to say I haven’t tried to make small talk, I have. Talking about non-work things with natively remote co-workers is awkward. It’s clear that they don’t want to do it and I don’t want to force myself on them.

I’ve heard the argument, “well think about how they feel when you’re in the office and they can’t get away from your asking about their weekend,” but I’ve never worked in an office and not created genuine friendships that persisted outside of work.

I’m sure full remote work is fine for a lot of people and if I weren’t married and raising people, I’d probably be one of them.

Still, remote is preferable to full in-office. A couple of days of the week, maybe less, feels like the right amount of time in the office. Companies could downsize and schedule certain teams for certain days.