async communication
/ˈeɪsɪŋk kəˌmjuːnɪˈkeɪʃən/
CommonWork communication that does not require both people to be available at the same time.
Has become a value statement, not just a description. Saying 'we do async' often signals a culture that respects focus time and avoids unnecessary meetings.
Real-world examples4 examples
| # | Example | What it means | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | we're async by default. if it can be a loom, it's a loom. | The team deliberately avoids meetings in favor of recorded or written communication. | x, 2023 |
| 02 | could this meeting have been async? yes. was it? no. | A meeting happened that did not need to be a meeting. | reddit, 2022 |
| 03 | switched to async communication for most things and my calendar is finally readable | Reducing real-time meetings freed up large blocks of time. | x, 2024 |
| 04 | async doesn't mean slow. it means i respond when i can actually focus. | Async is not about being unresponsive, it is about protecting attention. | x, 2023 |
Use it when
- Your team works across time zones and can't all be online together.
- You prefer written messages over calls for most things.
- Describing a work culture that avoids back-to-back meetings.
- You need someone's input but it is not urgent.
Do not use it when
- The topic is emotionally charged or needs real-time judgment.
- You need an immediate decision.
Variations and related forms
Origin and context
Borrowed from programming, where asynchronous means operations that don't block waiting for a response. Applied to workplace communication as remote and distributed teams looked for language to describe not-in-real-time coordination.
- First seen
- late-2010s
- Confidence
- medium
Cite this page
Use this stable URL to reference the entry.
https://slang.fyi/async-communicationUpdated: 2026-08-29License: CC BY 4.0