When you give something a name, you make it real in a new way. Knowledge workers are seeing this firsthand with asynchronous work (or “async”), which is when team members work on the same project or problem but at different times instead of synchronously. Suddenly, the term is everywhere — but asynchronous work is more than a buzzword.

Not just a by-product of the shift to remote or hybrid, it’s about strategically making new ways of working work. Async can help people cut down on unnecessary meetings, connect across time zones, achieve flexibility, and it even contributes to job satisfaction. But what do knowledge workers think about async?