No Office? No Excuse for a Weak Company Culture.

Remote work has changed a lot of things: how we meet, where we work, what we wear below the waist. But the biggest shift?

Culture. Because the hardest part about remote work isn’t dodgy Wi-Fi or juggling time zones. It's making people feel like they belong.

And if you don’t? They drift, quietly. Until one day you log into your all-hands and realize the work is getting done, but no one really cares anymore.

So, how do you build a real, human company culture when everyone’s working from spare bedrooms, kitchen tables, and rented coworking desks miles apart?

1. Talk like a human

Something strange happens when people go remote - they forget how to speak like actual people. Suddenly, every message sounds like it was written by a minor Bond villain.

“Please be advised that the leadership team will be cascading key messaging via asynchronous touchpoints…”

Be honest - you tuned out somewhere around word four. And so does everyone else.

People don’t engage with waffle. They engage with people. Clear, honest, human communication beats buzzwords every time.

As much as 75% of employees say the way leaders communicate shapes how they feel about company culture. So drop the jargon and say what you mean.

2. Create rituals, not rules

In the office, culture kind of happened on its own. Morning coffee chats. Friday drinks. Someone always bringing in banana bread (good or otherwise).

You didn’t need to schedule connection - it just showed up. But when you go remote, the default is silence.

So, you build rituals. Tiny, repeatable, human ones:

• A Monday emoji check-in
• A Friday wins thread
• A Slack channel for terrible memes

It might seem silly, but rituals are how belonging happens. And it’s working - remote workers with strong culture rituals are more engaged than their in-office peers (45% vs. 36%).

3. Check in before it's too late

In an office, it was easy to tell when someone was having a rough day. They’d sigh. Stare blankly at the coffee machine. Swear quietly at the printer.

In a remote setting, you don’t see it, you don’t hear it. You only notice when the work starts slipping. And by then, it’s often too late.

So check in. Ask how they’re doing. Notice when they show up early or stay late. Say thank you. It sounds basic because it is.

4. Celebrate the people, not just the KPIs

You know what people actually remember? It's not hitting 112% of some performance metric. It's that time someone noticed they were juggling work and a teething baby and said, “I've got you covered.”

People don't stay for the quarterly metrics. They stay because someone remembered their dog's name, their birthday, their weird hobby.

Those bits don't show up in spreadsheets, but absolutely make a difference in how people feel. At least for the 72% who would take feeling supported and valued over a 30% pay rise.

When you treat people like people, they tend to stick around and care. Which, funny enough, is how you hit those KPIs in the first place.

Offices never made company culture

People did. Culture isn’t free snacks or forced fun. It’s how you talk, how you show up, and how you make people feel when no one’s looking.

Remote or not, that hasn't changed. So show up, do the work, and build a culture worth staying for.