With the omicron COVID variant sweeping the world, companies of all sizes have once again put their return-to-office plans on hold. Tech giant Google, which had expected to begin requiring people to return on Jan. 10, announced in December that coming to the office would instead remain voluntary for the time being.

And therein lies a significant challenge for employers – nearly two years into the pandemic, much of the connection that employees and employers had been so intentional about in the beginning has become an afterthought. But it’s crucial for not only productivity and workplace culture, but also retention; a recent survey by Fast Company/Harris found that nearly 60% of workers are considering a job change this year.

Especially among all-remote or hybrid teams, there’s an ongoing need to maintain connection and communication between colleagues. Here are five ways to do that.

1. Recognize personal situations. When you’re in your remote office, it’s easy to forget that other people have different personal challenges they’re contending with. Remember to extend grace to others with, perhaps, an elderly parent living with them, or several kids who get only 24 hours’ notice that school will be closed for the next few days due to health concerns. Co-workers may be indisposed in the morning getting their children settled into virtual setups before starting work. Realize that, even when they’re not talking about it, people are dealing with sometimes difficult situations. Be patient and check your tone in written correspondence – you don’t want to come across as disrespectful and lacking compassion.

2. Know when to call. If the email back-and-forth is proving confusing, hop on a phone call, with or without video. Email can be impersonal and cold, and a call will not only lead to a quicker solution, but also build voice-to-voice rapport. Don’t wait until your weekly team meeting to figure out an answer; normalize hopping on a call (preferably with video) to find solutions together, quickly, so you can stay productive.

Engaged teams have nearly
60%
less turnover than those with low engagement and connection.

(Gallup)

3. Get personal. Popular in the beginning days of the pandemic when we were all looking for ways to connect virtually, sharing about non-work personal experiences may have dwindled this past year. Bring it back by requesting that meetings allow time for sharing what’s going in personal lives and attentively listening. It’s helpful for people to know they have a listening ear regarding concerns and there’s space to maintain connection. Encourage the use of video, and make space for conversation in meetings; don’t rush through it.

4. Consider common interest groups. Propose launching virtual groups centered on common interests. Maybe it’s a lunch club focused on local sports teams, or true crime cases, or classic literature, or roller coasters. Offer to spearhead forming a few (even if you’re not a member of all of them) and give people the space to meet up virtually over lunch (or a hybrid setup if people are back in the office). Spending time talking about shared, enjoyed interests – and opening up the opportunity for lively banter that’s not work-related – can do wonders for building rapport between co-workers.

5. Establish cross-generational mentoring. Remote work has been a difficult transition for younger employees, particularly those just out of college. Many have never experienced a pre-COVID communal corporate environment, but it’s undeniable that that’s where authentic collegial relationships are created. Propose that seasoned employees offer to be professional mentors to younger team members. They can bring their questions – perhaps about office etiquette, communication and career mobility – and the more seasoned employee can provide a safe space for answers. There could also be shadowing opportunities on customer service calls, sales calls, product pitches and closes.