I've been a remote employee for nearly 10 years now. You're pretty spot on - it all depends on the team.
I've been on teams that collaborate a lot in person, whiteboarding, etc, and it gets frustrating to get 'left out.' That said, I've also been on teams where even sitting next to each other in an office, they communicate over slack/hangouts. Those teams made me feel absolutely no different as a remote employee.
In those instances, it was just preference of the team and how they interacted, more than anything. I think anyone who manages teams with remote employees should push towards this. Sure of course you can still have your random whiteboard breakouts, but perhaps require some time of everyone at least on audio, perhaps video.
I've been on teams that collaborate a lot in person, whiteboarding, etc, and it gets frustrating to get 'left out.' That said, I've also been on teams where even sitting next to each other in an office, they communicate over slack/hangouts. Those teams made me feel absolutely no different as a remote employee.
In those instances, it was just preference of the team and how they interacted, more than anything. I think anyone who manages teams with remote employees should push towards this. Sure of course you can still have your random whiteboard breakouts, but perhaps require some time of everyone at least on audio, perhaps video.