WFH: Is Your Work Culture Being Impacted?

Originally posted on ProgressiveDiscoveries.com

Gone are the days of the employee bonding and camaraderie that can only happen when we have the pleasure (and pain) of seeing one another, face-to-face, day after day, in the office. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed life as we know it. Increased numbers of the vaccinated notwithstanding, many remain concerned about being safe. People are still masking up, social distancing, and working from home. Although the CDC has declared safety for fully vaccinated folx, organizations still grapple with which path to take; work from home, on-site, or the hybrid: a little of each.

We’ve had conversations that matter with our clients, and they’re all talking about what, how, and from where work will occur for the balance of 2021 and beyond. This tough decision gives all organizations much to consider: from strategic imperatives, to how day-to day-work will be performed in the long term, to cross-functional collaboration and decision-making. Most pressing is how the most significant people-related functions, including talent acquisition, onboarding, performance management and good, old-fashioned teamwork will occur. With all these elements to consider, how will the most elusive factor that most organizations have been working to make perfect be impacted?

What’s Culture Got to Do with It?

Trying to define the “perfect culture” brings another classic reference to mind: “it’s hard to describe, but you know it when you see it.” Work isn’t just about going to the office to get your tasks done; it’s also about forming relationships and connections that build a workplace community based on shared and disparate values and vision. Having a strong “work culture” promotes engagement and improves performance as employees interact with and learn more about each other. A company’s culture could easily be a contributing decision-making factor in accepting employment there versus at a competitor’s, or why current employees choose to stay. Beyond employee experience, culture is foundational to a company’s image, reputation and legacy. Ultimately, culture is like a fine, ethereal mist, coating everything; sometimes undetected.

At the risk of annoying many people, who, like me, enjoy the work from home experience (full disclosure: I’ve worked from home for many years) I know that there are significant trade offs, productivity, employee experience and cultural impacts to consider. Covid-19 necessities have transitioned work to a “business on the top, sleep/casual-wear on the bottom” experience for those lucky and privileged enough to fully contribute from home. (We’ll dig deeper into the experience of those who contribute from the front lines in a subsequent post.) This is to say that working from home can and does allow work to occur successfully. AND, there can be big benefits:

• Better work-life balance: Working remotely offers more flexibility; people can choose when to work, plan meetings accordingly, avoid commute time, and better manage the demands of their personal lives.
• Improved well-being: Working from home can reduce work-related stress, allowing people to focus on their physical and mental health.
• Reduced costs: The reduced overhead costs of not supporting employees in a brick-and-mortar space, coupled with reduced T&E costs make a significant and seductive P&L impact for many companies. For employees, spending less money on transportation, professional wardrobes, lunches, and other expenses may boost cashflow to be directed to other obligations.
• It’s popular: Let’s face it, given the choice to bring the same bacon home, from home? Who wouldn’t make that choice? Although reported sentiments about the desire to work from home vary, strong support for WFH arrangements persist.

Conversely, it’s not necessarily “all good” when it comes to having a distributed workforce, where most of the work takes place outside of the office.

What gets lost?

Because we have conversations that matter with employees from the C-Suite to the front line, we know that remote work has deficits:

• Purpose Breakdown: Working together in the same space allows leaders and teams to reinforce the company’s “raison d’être” on a regular basis. This happens in various ways, some superfluous, (the birthday celebration) and others essential (state of enterprise updates), but all are significant determinants and promoters of company culture. Further, reinforcing the company’s mission, vision, values and purpose happens more organically through in-person interactions, and may be sacrificed via video formats due to time constraints and the need to get down to business.
• Reduced community and teamwork: The “social function” that is work may be missed by remote arrangements, and studies show that in-person interaction results in stronger cooperation, commitment, and support between coworkers.
• Diminished communication: Working from home may cause communication breakdowns amongst teams, even with the use of video conferences, phone calls, or emails. Body language cannot accurately be conveyed through these formats, and does not offer the freedom to pop into a coworker’s office to ask or answer a quick question. Individuals and teams are less inclined to interact remotely, resulting in reduced trust and camaraderie.
• Challenging Landscape for New Employees: Many people are starting new jobs and meeting their bosses and co-workers via impersonal video meetings on a screen rather than face-to-face. It takes real creativity and a specific plan to create immediate welcome and belonging through this medium. And, minus a well-crafted strategy, how does “ramp up” happen? What about performance management after the first three months for a new employee who is struggling in their role? What happens when the same employee has a manager who is uncomfortable coaching someone they’ve never met in person? For new employees, the “Welcome to the Team!” emails, and a company mug sent through the mail may not be enough to convey belonging, inclusion and their place in the company’s structure and culture.
• Burnout: Are employees working from home or living at work? Employees may feel that they need to be available at all times while working remotely, which can blur the lines between work and home life, leading to burnout and added stress.

To Work from Home or from the Office?

This is both the question and the answer, as many companies are considering a hybrid approach to how work gets done. At Progressive Discoveries, we recognize that this is a complex issue, with many perspectives to consider. As in life, there are advantages and disadvantages to every decision, and always trade offs. Why is it never easy?

Ultimately, all companies want to keep their employees motivated to produce their best work, have a fulfilling work experience, and have longevity with the company. Going forward, how will this happen?

Our position is that today, employee motivation is in-flux. Motivational factors are wholly contingent on individual traits, as there are employees who are highly motivated by working from home in an environment with limited interruption and the ability to focus on the work, while more extroverted employees are energized by interaction and the energy derived from being in-office. Some employees are a combination of both; liking, in certain instances, to be in-person and in others, to work independently, which is more easily accomplished at home.

There are multiple advantages and disadvantages to a distributed employee population that works from home, or one that is in-office. At Progressive Discoveries, we believe it’s important to evaluate how these changes will impact your work culture, and subsequently, your DEI-B goals. Going fully remote may be the best answer for now, but prolonged remote work arrangements may lead to loss of cohesion, connection, collaboration, trust, and over time, erosion of the culture you’ve worked hard to establish. You may find that your employees need face-to-face interactions to feel heard and nurture relationships that will, in turn, reinforce and grow a work culture that promotes fealty between people, and to your company and brand.

We want to help you talk about the experiences people have at work that contribute to how diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging currently show up at your company. Does DEI-B live in ways that benefit your employees, customers and other important stakeholders? Are you sure?

Let’s talk about it. We’ll keep this conversation going and will share what we’re learning, each and every day, from listening. What are you learning?