Does home-office really hinder culture?

Remote work has become increasingly popular, but the question of culture in a virtual environment is still a complex one. Some experts argue that remote work is detrimental to organizational culture, while others believe it is possible to build a strong and positive culture even without face-to-face interaction.

This article explores the debate over culture in remote work, presenting arguments from both sides. It also offers tips for companies that want to build a strong and vibrant culture in a virtual environment.

Entrepreneur and investor Cristiana Arcangeli, known for her participation in Shark Tank Brasil, has a widely circulated video on social media where she categorically states that remote work is a terrible institution for the market because, according to her, "it's impossible to build culture in remote work".

There has been a significant ongoing discussion since the beginning of the 2020 pandemic regarding productivity within a remote work system. Especially noteworthy is Zoom, a company that grew over 1000% during the pandemic, choosing to return to in-person (or hybrid) work in August this year.

Big tech companies, in general, follow a similar pattern - which often sets a global trend, not necessarily based on data, but through inspiration. This trend might also lead to the now-famous statement by the Brazilian "shark".

However, away from the numerical and pragmatic discussion on productivity, a large portion of the market, especially directors and CEOs, seems to be in turmoil regarding the issue of CULTURE.

Let's delve deeper.

The first question to arise when an argument like "remote work does not build (or sustain) culture" appears is: what culture?

What type of culture are entrepreneurs referring to when they mention - out of context - the term culture?

Firstly, there's a considerably questionable number of companies that, in some form, operate programs or departments focused on corporate culture. According to a Deloitte survey in 2022, 80% of companies, to some extent, have managers, committees, or specific programs on this subject. However, the survey was conducted with only 250 companies, in a world where there are approximately 500 million CNPJs (Brazilian company register numbers): according to the International Labour Organization (ILO) report, almost all of these companies are Microenterprises (99.9%), i.e., small-scale organizations with an average of up to 9 employees.

A deep assessment isn't required for anyone who has been a manager or collaborator in such a company to realize that departments, managers, committees, or even cultural programs are by no means a priority. Simply put, this isn't a topic that sits at the table. In Brazil, the general consensus is that culture isn't a priority since we are still commerce-centered. This makes sense for the condition of the vast majority of the country's companies - and the world.

On the other hand, this doesn't mean that there is no culture; "culture happens", whether the company intends it or not.

Therefore, when someone from a major company (where culture is usually taken more seriously and practically) representing a statistically minuscule number of organizations publicly states that remote work does not sustain culture, it's essential to carefully understand what culture we're talking about, considering 99.9% of the world's companies.

In sectors where remote work is possible, and in these companies where "culture happens" - and isn't managed - we would be precisely talking about some quite prevalent, known, and almost endemic cultural institutions in the corporate environment in an organic manner:

1) Clock culture: Generally, organizations purchase time rather than productivity from their employees. This is a traditional cultural manifestation of the business model for many companies where the key focus (or the most visibly significant aspect) is to have employees present and available from X to Y hours, from such to such a day. This does occur - and quite a lot - in remote work too. However, for a few seconds or minutes a day, it's possible that, in remote work, the employee might not be seen or may not provide an immediate response to orders or even day-to-day interactions. This leads us to the second point.

2) Management culture: One of the most common cultures present both in face-to-face and remote work but tends to be clearer in the former, requiring a bit less work from the managing agent. Many roles in current companies are considerably managerial, which means that many roles in the company are represented by people who operate by monitoring - or at least that's how many managers understand their role. It's not uncommon for many managers to feel the need to operate (write emails, schedule meetings online, motivate in online meetings, etc.) more in remote situations than in face-to-face, where merely being present and vocally ordering is sufficient to, in a way (in a rather crude way of describing it), manage.

3) Micromanagement culture: Here lies a severe problem. Micromanagement is detrimental in any environment, virtual or physical, and it occurs in both. Counting seconds, periodic supervisory meetings and feedback, demanding exhaustive and unnecessary reports and validations, not to mention the intoxicating immediacy of WhatsApp groups. This is a culture allowed and therefore constructed.

4) Desk culture: Desks, cubicles, workstations. This is an organic culture that frequently arises in the vast majority of companies where culture is not strategically managed. The manifestation of work in the form of occupying a space in the company, with company belongings, company supplies, company measures, and near a whole condominium of similar spaces, is still a reality that captivates many leaders worldwide. Many employees also prefer occupying these spaces to allowing the company to occupy space in their homes. It's a prevalent and common culture.

5) Corridor culture: Perhaps the biggest and most common. Quick decisions that would often go unnoticed and others not so small happen all the time, far from formal meetings. Analyzing the "temperature" and mood of people, the general sentiment, and gossip - inevitably - are rooted in the corridor culture. These are things we find challenging to describe but are absolutely clear and relevant; the entire internal construction of a socio-cultural climate in the company's ecosystem only occurs through small interpersonal relationships and interventions in the company's corridors, coffee spaces, and breaks. In organizations where creativity is highly necessary, this exchange, which we can call "infrasound" contacts, i.e., below the radar, almost indirect, can be extremely useful.

There are various other points to be analyzed regarding the question of whether culture exists or is possible in a remote or hybrid work system. However, the discussion cannot be based on guesswork influenced by influencers. Even if they are good leaders and managers of their businesses, their media presence requires synthetic maximums to please uninterested - and uninteresting - algorithms.

Ever since Peter Drucker coined the infamous maxim "culture eats strategy for breakfast," talking about culture seems to have become an obligation, a mantra repeated so often yet scarcely understood, much like Drucker's phrase itself. Culture is the cultivation of something organic, something that might indeed consume strategy but without which strategy does not exist or exists quite differently from what we desire.

Although form and content are inseparable, it's possible to cultivate culture through any means.

There are vast communities, countless groups, unprecedented numbers of associations around channels, influencers, and artists in general that behave with their own cultures even in systems where they rarely or never meet in person. Even religions have stopped mandating daily mass celebrations, leaving it for remote work. Hybrid work occurs because in Sunday masses, one must go to the company. There's no one who can say this isn't culture; it's just that companies need to understand exactly how to do it. It's still too early to give up on what will hardly cease to be a reality.