  Context. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, software professionals had to abruptly
shift to ostensibly temporary home offices, which affected teamwork in several
ways. Goal. This study aims to explore how these professionals coped with
remote work during the pandemic and to identify practices that supported the
team activities. Method. Ethnographic methods, including participant
observation and qualitative data analysis, were used. Results. Three practices
were created by the observed team to improve their engagement: costume meeting,
second-language day, and project happy hour. These practices appear to increase
individual involvement, improve team cohesion, reduce monotony, and create
opportunities for knowledge acquisition. Conclusions. The three observed
practices may help remote software teams cope with adversity. More research is
needed to determine if these practices work in other settings, including
remote-first and hybrid remote / on-site teams, post-pandemic.
