This article is written by our guest author John Bramer, John is a Media Consultant, and this time he shares his best practices for recreating the office culture for remote teams, from a manager’s perspective:

More people than ever before find themselves working from home. The COVID-19 pandemic has affected working life permanently, as many businesses have implemented long-lasting changes to the way people work – for example, investing heavily in remote working tools.

Indeed, many employees don’t want to return to the office once it’s safe to do so and the rules allow it. According to this study, 29% of employees would like to work from home full-time after the pandemic. But the largest response was to the option of a mix of working from home and working from the office. Of course, these types of surveys can vary between industries, countries and perhaps even the day you ask people (we’ve all been there).

But two things are clear: employees want flexibility and they are clearly missing some aspects of the office atmosphere. So what can managers do to recreate the social opportunities that arise in the office?

1. Virtual catch-ups

Not every meeting has to have a work purpose. You can encourage your employees to have meetings simply to catch-up and keep in touch. Or, depending on the size of your company or team, you could create an optional weekly meeting for this purpose. It can help to have someone in charge leading the way and reinforcing the message that socialising with colleagues is important.

Guides to remote working have been cropping up all over the internet. And this one highlights how collaboration, communication and loneliness are the biggest struggles for remote workers. They recommend checking that everyone has access to the same remote communication tools.

2. Social team building

Nowadays, there are plenty of companies offering remote team building activities. If you’ve got the budget, it can be a great way to get everyone together every so often. But you can also try to do it yourself. Everyone might have been a bit sick of quizzes during the first lockdown, but what about recreating an iconic gameshow? Through the Keyhole, Pointless and Catchphrase are just some examples.

3. Look for additional opportunities

Making the adjustment to working from home isn’t easy for everyone. As a manager, you should dedicate some time to investigate if people are missing the office environment – and why. It’s easy to assume it’s the social interaction. After all, we often become friends with our colleagues. But there are other sources of stress at home which can make people long for the office. For example:

If they’re uncomfortable at home, consider a budget for at home equipment.

There’s kind of an art to the right desk setup. In the office, it’s likely you have comfortable chairs, desks at the right height and multiple screens. Employees may be struggling with limited space, dining tables and wooden chairs at home. It can have a huge impact on productivity.

If they are struggling with routine, consider arranging an exercise class.

Businesses have all kinds of employee perks nowadays. And exercise has helped many people keep up motivation throughout what’s undoubtedly been a stressful time. It could be a welcomed break in the working day to re-energise your team.

Sometimes you have to get creative when adjusting to a new working norm. How have you tried to recreate office opportunities at home? Share your tips and advice with us.

If you are interested in writing a guest post for our blog check our previous articles for topic ideas and contact us via e-mail at hello@iseeq.co.