Social Capital and Hybrid Work
The importance of social connections in a hybrid work environment
Social capital refers to the networks, norms and trust within a society that empowers cooperation and coordination. In the workplace context, social capital is essential for enabling effective communication and collaboration among team members, which creates positive impacts such as increased efficiency and productivity.
As described in a recent article by McKinsey & Co., these connections have been shown to influence employees:
“With regard to individuals, it’s important to have connections to facilitate greater creativity and greater learning. There’s a lot of research that shows if you are more engaged, you’re more likely to stay. Connectivity can also help with career mobility. If you’re leading teams or you’re a part of a team, social capital is a building block that ultimately leads to that connection, that innovation, and that sharing of ideas.”
How does remote and hybrid work impact social capital?
It is difficult to embed company culture over video calls with your employees. Getting a good turnout and strong engagement on a 30-person Zoom happy hour is challenging. Building rapport with a team member is complex if you never have in-person face time. Social capital in a hybrid work environment is not easy or straightforward.
There are clear benefits for employees and employers regarding remote work. No commute, lower overheads, more productivity and many more – but there are concerns about the impact of intra-office collaboration, which evidence shows is critical to long-term growth. Without seeing your co-workers regularly, having the 5-minute corridor de-brief after meetings and the incidental conversation in the breakroom, collaboration with team members becomes increasingly challenging to maintain without purposeful intent.
How do we resolve this?
When developing policy, companies need to decide the most effective solution for their workforce – do you meet in person once a week, once a month, or once a quarter? Do the same rules apply to new hires and seasoned staff? What about new graduates and executives? Ultimately a balance is required, but this calculation should not be speculative. Defining your policy necessitates ongoing discussions, surveys, and benchmarking to ensure that your hybrid work model is the most effective it can be and can be adapted as needed.
“Clear and effective communication is essential for the success of any remote team”
In addition, technology offers a vast range of options to address the communication gap, such as allowing remote workers to work with their colleagues and clients in real-time, regardless of location. Remote workers can collaborate and share ideas as if they were in the same physical location. Many companies are evolving their products or developing new apps to support remote and hybrid work. Like policy, it’s crucial to find the right technology fit for your company, not necessarily the cheapest or most convenient option.