In a physical office, casual interactions and spontaneous conversations naturally foster relationships and camaraderie. These informal moments are hard to replicate in a digital workspace, leading to feelings of isolation and disconnection among remote employees.
Without the daily, in-person interactions that naturally build bonds, remote workers often struggle to feel truly integrated into the company culture. This lack of connection can undermine engagement, collaboration and, ultimately, the overall success of the remote-work model.
Perhaps trying to maintain office culture is a mistake. The way forward is not to introduce policies that try to keep the old culture, but instead reinvent the culture to better fit the way that we now work. In a remote-work era, a culture based on transparency, connection and psychological safety can foster trust between employees and with employers. Hybrid and remote working make culture more important than ever, so merely trying to patch it up will likely invite disaster.
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This requires a shift from a one-size-fits-all approach to a more personalised and flexible work environment. The evolution can lead to increased autonomy, empowerment, and a greater sense of ownership among employees, ultimately fostering productivity.
Be honest
Transparency is the cornerstone of successful adaptation from office to remote work. Honesty from both a business and its employees can help people adapt to change, define employee roles, and is good for general morale.
Many of the changes required to make this work are relatively straightforward. When colleagues are no longer only a few desks away, simple adjustments, such as teaching the value of managing email influx or more frequent communication with other employees for visibility, are beneficial practices that can all help.
Upgrade your tools
Along with transparency, it’s important to provide the right tools for remote work. Equipment or software that is faulty or ill-suited for the work being done not only hampers progress but also puts in place barriers in an otherwise transparent workflow. The right technology can bridge the gap physically created between people in a remote workspace and act as the key to maintaining remote transparency. This in turn helps create the right culture.
Work on psychological safety
Promoting psychological safety is also imperative. Clear expectations, open communication channels, respect for diverse perspectives, and constructive feedback mechanisms all play pivotal roles in cultivating an environment where remote teams feel secure and motivated to excel in their roles. Prioritising psychological safety lays the groundwork for a thriving remote-work environment, empowering teams to perform at their best.
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Enforce the right to disconnect
An idea originating in France, the 'right to disconnect', has become a global trend. Some countries have adopted it as law, others have done so in a more informal way through company policy. Digital communication and remote work have led to a pervasive issue of employees feeling obligated to stay connected beyond their official work schedules, whether during evenings or paid time off. Right to disconnect means that a better work/life balance is explicitly expected; employees don’t feel they have to work beyond their contracted hours as much.
The combination of both remote and flexible working has amplified this challenge in another way, as employers face difficulty in monitoring employees' work hours without being too invasive. To address this, organisations must find the difficult balance to offer flexibility, respect the right to disconnect while also ensuring productivity and performance.
Since the transition to remote work started four years ago, preserving company culture is a challenge – and an opportunity. Rather than maintaining culture as something static, we can reimagine it based on transparency, connection, and psychological safety. This shift demands a fundamental re-evaluation of cultural strategies to align with the evolving work landscape.
The key to thriving in remote work lies not in maintaining company culture but in reinventing it to thrive in the digital age.
Bjorn Reynolds is CEO of HR platform Safeguard Global
