Async Work
Definition: A working style where most communication happens in writing, on each person's schedule — not in real-time meetings.
What it is
Async work (asynchronous work) is the practice of doing the bulk of team coordination through written messages, recorded videos, and documented decisions rather than live calls. It's the default style for distributed teams that span multiple time zones and the explicit philosophy of companies like GitLab, Doist, and 37signals. Async work makes it possible for teams to ship without forcing everyone into the same Zoom calendar.
Why it matters
98% of remote workers want to keep working remotely at least some of the time (Buffer, 2024) and time-zone overlap is the #2 cited blocker for global hiring. Async-friendly tools (chat with thread search, docs with comments, recorded video updates) are the foundation.
Layer UI in context
Layer UI is built async-first: every channel, doc, and CRM record is searchable; threads can be summarized by AI for anyone catching up after a day off.
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