The widespread return to office push isn’t going that well. And while office culture is far from the only reason, it’s still a major part of the equation.
Traveling into an office just isn’t appealing anymore. Why would it be when rent is at an all-time high, and wages aren’t going up at the same rate? Most full-time workers can’t even entertain the idea of a mortgage these days.
If you want employees to come into your office and actually be engaged, you have to do more than make it mandatory.
Forcing employees who once worked remotely back on-site is asking for mass resignations. At the same time, only offering office-based working limits your talent pool.
So how do you make your office culture worth the commute? No, it isn’t a ping pong table.
Understand the ripple effect
When your business has a strong culture, it quadruples your revenue and leads to higher retention. 88% of employees also say that company culture is key when job hunting.
If your managers hate their jobs—or their employees—everyone will be able to tell. And no one will want to be there.
They’re called leaders for a reason. They set the tone for the rest of your business. It’s as simple—and as complex—as that.
Toxic cultures like this are responsible for 45% of resignations and an increase in employee burnout. And 42% of employees think executive leaders don’ t contribute to a positive company culture. So you need to teach your managers how to control their emotions, and how to lead. Otherwise no one is going to want to be there.
I’ve sat in an office before with an unwelcoming manager, too afraid to ask for help or even say anything because of their sour expression. Said manager wasn’t mad at me—something had happened at home. But their response created an unhealthy atmosphere in the office that kept everyone else away and made nobody want to be there.
This is obviously less of a problem when employees work remotely and don’t see negative colleagues all day in person. But if you want a healthy office culture, you have to remember how team members’ attitudes can affect each other.
Train your managers
To avoid the example above, you need to train your managers. The majority never receive any formal training. Without training, they have no idea how to best support their employees, let alone develop the emotional awareness to stop their own feelings from impacting your office culture.
Coaching, mentoring, and even employee groups can teach your managers how to work with your employees instead of against them.
You could even use employee groups to manage your mentoring and coaching initiatives, helping employees connect with the right people to help them grow in their careers.
Use in-person meetings for good, not evil
In-person meetings can be great for coming up with new ideas and helping everyone get heard if done right.
But sometimes, they aren’t the solution they sound like. Instead, meetings become a way for the loudest voices in the room to be heard, not an effective way to solve problems or progress on new projects.
Meeting fatigue is real and can seriously hurt your office culture. You therefore need to strike the balance between using them to create energy and them being an excuse to look busy.
Respect people’s space
Offices can be noisy and overwhelming. Giving employees a quiet space to reflect, concentrate, or just get some alone time can go a long way to supporting employees who are neurodiverse, have an overactive nervous system, dislike bright lights, or who are going through a tough time and need to clear their heads.
Quiet rooms are also useful for deep focus, something that it’s not always easy to do when surrounded by colleagues talking; the clacking of keys; the sound of people breathing; overhearing other people’s music; the cold office fan; the buzz of the A/C…offices can be so overwhelming. The more you do to mitigate that, the more you’re going to get from your employees. And the more you’re going to improve your office culture.
Forget the ping pong table
Ping pong tables sound fun. But they’re so 2010. They’re now a transparent way of saying that you expect employees to focus on work and nothing else.
It’s really not healthy for someone to spend all day, every day, in the same building. Walking meetings, time in nature, and even having a meeting in a coffee shop all have benefits for your employees and their wellbeing. So why not encourage them?
Use your location to your advantage. Don’t worry about having an in-office ping pong table or other attractions.
Instead, encourage your employees to go out to places on their lunch breaks, after work, or even for meetings. This can reinforce employee relationships and give them a change of scenery that could offer them a fresh perspective.
Sometimes building a great office culture is about making sure employees get a taste of the world outside the office.
Use greenery
Plants improve our wellbeing. Even looking at plants on a screen can have beneficial effects. So those office plants you thought were pointless are actually useful. Not only do they add personality to a space, but they also create a sense of calm across your office culture.
If you’re not particularly green fingered, hire someone to care for your plants, pay an employee a little extra to do it, or get fake ones. Most of the time, nobody will be able to tell the difference anyway. And looking at a fake plant is better than looking at a dead one.
Have a networking breakfast
Offering employees a chance to get to know each other over coffee and a bagel is a low-effort way for them to connect. Food is a great ice breaker, too.
Integrating the occasional breakfast into your office culture also gives your team members the chance to wake up before they start the day without taking time away from their evenings with loved ones, or winding down.
Set up an office-based employee group
Having an employee group for employees based in your office gives them a chance to ask for recommendations of places to eat, get to know new colleagues who’ll be working there, and share updates like what’s happening in the building.
These small conversations help improve in-person relationships between your employees, creating a more welcoming office culture.
Try Workrowd
Using Workrowd, you can set up groups like this and make them easy for employees to find and navigate.
Everything they need to know stays in one place, making them more likely to use the tool and get more out of it. Want to find out more? Book your free demo.
Conclusion
Office culture relies on more than just so-called perks. It’s about the people who spend time in your office and how they interact with each other. That starts with your managers and how they treat their employees. Creating opportunities for connection beyond work-related conversations gives them the chance to see their colleagues as friends and build a positive and supportive office culture.
