Corporate Culture in a Remote and Hybrid World
The future of work is weird and wonderful. Even though most employees shifted to remote work over two years ago, we’re still seeing a constant evolution of tools and features to work better virtually. On Wednesday April 13, 2022, 18 Coffees hosted a casual Coffee Break conversation discussing the realities of corporate culture in a remote and hybrid world. Here’s what Community Partners found most interesting:
Building a strong culture in a remote work setting
Remote isn’t always 100 percent better. There are small things like serendipitous personal interactions in-person you miss out on in remote work that are hard to recreate in a virtual environment.
Slack and other similar communications tools can be great if utilized well. Organizing a variety of appropriate Slack channels can 1) create an effective form of communication and 2) enable some of those interpersonal anecdotes that humanize the job.
Some people said how they stayed longer at a job because of the great people they worked with. This is backed up by research from the Institute of Leadership and Management, which found “relationships with colleagues were considered one of the most important factors in determining job satisfaction by 77% of respondents.”
Google is trying to entice workers back to the office full-time with free scooter subscriptions. But culture is more than constantly working together in an office space and can still happen through virtual meet-ups, organized gatherings, weekly check-ins, inclusion trainings, mentorship programs, and more.
This begs the question though: Are the days of using in-person perks to retain employees gone for good?
Culture-building tools
This team member on a page worksheet helps get better gauge of who you’re working with and what their work style and preferences are.
Utilize a lifeline exercise: Map the ups and downs of your professional life over time, then compare it to a coworkers’ results. Are your life highs similar to your career highs? If not how do they differ? How do they compare with your coworkers? Where do you derive the most value?
Gatheround is a great resource to get to know colleagues better in a structured, virtual setting.
For a Gatheround discount, use “18COFFEES20” for 20% off.
Negative impacts of working hybrid/remote
One negative aspect of working hybrid/remote is how it can be hard to keep teams energized and on the same page. Not everything needs to be a meeting, and not every meeting has to be a Zoom — communications channels like email or Slack (and boundaries with your team about what conversations you actually need to be a part of) can alleviate some of the potential meeting fatigue.
When conducting in-person meetings, some felt the need to be more “on” than in virtual meetings. On the flip-side, it’s not just you — most people are still staring at themselves all day long on Zoom.
A huge risk to hybrid work: Lack of alignment on who’s coming in and when. Is everyone in on Tuesdays? Or does one half of the company come in on one day, and the other half on the next? Figuring this out early is crucial, otherwise teams end up working in person but still conducting most meetings virtually.
Tips for remote or hybrid workers
If you’re a hybrid worker, you may want to mirror your work setup at the office and at home — invest in the monitor, keyboard, mouse, or whatever else you need to make your setup work for you.
The “always-on” mentality that can lead employees to start work earlier or end later is harder to combat when your office is also your bedroom. Try to combat it by setting clear boundaries with yourself and your team about when you’re available and online.
Since physical work space is also your physical living space it can be helpful to change up your location to create a better mental divide, in leu of a commute. Some Community Partners suggested going for a walk around the block to replicate a commute or to head the gym for a greater mental break.
Tips for companies
Provide standard hybrid work procedures as early as possible so all employees are on the same page.
Invest in software and hardware to make remote and hybrid teams function to the best of their abilities.
Take the time to differentiate between culture building initiatives and employee perks.
Communicate with your team and see what they really want. The decision to return to in-person offices affects childcare requirements, commuting costs (time and money), food prep, and more, so a clear plan for execution before making any official announcements or policy changes will go a long way.
