Creating a Strong Office Culture in a Remote or Hybrid Workplace

Updated on August 13, 2026

With the workplace constantly evolving, there’s become more of a need than ever to outline ways to truly create a strong office culture outside the office. This means finding ways to maintain a value-driven environment and office culture even in the remote workplace. That way your team feels more connected to the work they’re doing and the team they’re doing it with.

Write it Out!

It’s very important that you have your office culture and values written out in a way that’s easy to understand and comprehensive. This will always be a living document, meaning it should evolve over time as your company grows and changes.

What should be in this document, you may ask? The answer is, well, it varies!

You should include as many details as needed to effectively communicate your culture and values to current and new employees. It’s important to include sections such as performance measurement tools, expectations, and culture-fit assessments. No detail is too small!

Once your document is ready, distribute it to every single employee. It may even be helpful to hold a meeting with your employees to talk it over and make sure everyone agrees on and understands the culture and values expected in the remote workplace.

Make it Public

No matter how big or small your company is, it’s great to share your culture and values with the public. This sharing can take many forms: slide decks, press releases, social media posts; the list is long. The form you use to share is slightly less important than the fact that your company shared in the first place.

Being transparent and open about your office’s culture and values is a great way to share the culture you are striving for. This holds the company and its employees to a higher standard when these expectations are made public.

Accountability is an important factor in a remote workplace. It becomes “easier” for employees to stray when they aren’t in the office, so this serves as a great company-culture self-check. It also can be a great way for potential job candidates to learn more about the company and its culture.

The Water Cooler Effect

When working in an office setting was the norm, there was usually a place in the office where employees gathered to talk. In more traditional offices, this place was often the water cooler.

Now, in hybrid or entirely remote workplaces, there is no longer this water-cooler effect.

Similar to a physical office space, it’s a great idea to create a virtual “water cooler.” You can do this by using a messaging or chat application, such as Slack, and creating a channel for casual conversations among employees.

Too often, a feeling of isolation kicks in when this office chit-chat and social interactions are missing in remote workplaces. Make sure you do set some guidelines about appropriate language and behavior in this messaging channel. It’s important to still have some fun with it!

Meet, Learn, Measure

When new employees come aboard, make them feel just as welcome as you would in a physical office setting. Don’t ignore this small but meaningful part of someone’s onboarding process.

An easy way to do this is to hold a quick video meeting where they can share fun facts about themselves and get to know the team. This easily puts faces to names, avoids introductions getting lost in email chains, and creates personal connections with the current team.

The more time you can spend fostering team bonding, the more connected the team will be. Another way to do this is to find inventive ways to engage employees, such as holding fun virtual events like trivia, cooking competitions, and icebreakers.

An effective way to measure employee engagement is through employee pulse checks. These can be surveys or weekly emails that you can have your employees complete to gauge how they’re doing, how they’re feeling, and the improvements they’d like to see. This is a great way to open dialogues about employee issues that haven’t been addressed.

We hope you found these tips for building a strong office culture in a remote workplace to be helpful and insightful. If you’re a manager and would like to learn more about this topic, check out our Manager Crash Course series and other events we put on here at HR Annie. As always, HR Annie is here to help with your HR needs!