Don’t let your company culture waste away when working from home

Good relationships at work are essential for building and maintaining a culture of trust.

I feel privileged working in a company with creative, flexible, and positive people. Naturally, being located in five different habitats in three countries and working with clients all over the world, we already have everything practical thing in place to work remotely (link). But what happens when we get physically and socially disconnected from people we are used to seeing and working with every day?

We find new ways of hanging out.

Below are some of the initiatives that the people of EGGS have taken.

Creating a Corona group on our Intranet

The usual watercooler/coffee machine talk has disappeared overnight, so we needed a new place to share jokes, thoughts, feelings, and tips. Colleagues rapidly set up a group on Workplace (our “intranet”), and people are sharing everything from playlist tips, Corona-related jokes, pictures from where they are, recipes, and other informal stuff. Humour helps us stay sane.

Sharing pictures from our home offices

We've gotten new insight about our colleagues as people have been sharing photos from their homes. By knowing what it's like where colleagues are, it becomes easier to connect and think about them, also in between meetings.

Whipping up an online training session

We usually have stretching sessions in the office, but Zu just invited everyone to join online instead. Staying physically active is incredibly important when working from home because we don't get the regular exercise of getting to and from work, going to meetings etc. Even the gyms are closed. Training together online is an excellent way of getting those exercises done.

Arranging online social activities

Make sure to check in with your team on a regular basis. If you don’t already have stand-ups, check-ins or similar, now is a good time to establish them. Your working relationships and your company culture will waste away fast, if you don't stay socially connected.

What is your company doing to stay connected when staying apart? Please share, it will be inspiring to hear what you are doing to maintain good relationships and trust at work, and to stay active and connected.