Replicating water-cooler culture in a digital world

Claire Ross, head of culture and engagement at Advanced, asks how do law firms support employee wellbeing and engagement in the next normal – where many people may continue to work remotely at least part of the time?

Human beings have a basic need to connect with each other and it has been this lack of physical connection, forced by lockdowns and restrictions during the Covid-19 pandemic, that has been so difficult to deal with for so many people. We’ve missed having the opportunity to be together, to touch and to look each other fully in the eye, in a way that just isn’t possible during virtual interactions. Body language is so critical to the way we understand each other as we communicate, and it’s nearly impossible to see or read that via a laptop screen. We need to be in the same space to fully interact with each other in an effective and rewarding way.

In the workplace, water-cooler culture – the day-to-day, face-to-face, informal chats about work and personal topics – is an important factor motivating people to go to work and to enjoy their time there. It helps to boost and cement corporate culture, brings teams together and increases their sense of wellbeing and happiness at work. It provides unscheduled ‘light’ moments that help us to recharge and refocus when we return to our desks to complete our daily tasks.

So how do law firms support employee wellbeing and engagement in the next normal – where many people may continue to work remotely at least part of the time?

• Cloud-based digital solutions provide the tools for teams to work effectively from home, and they can also support remote water-cooler culture. Team chat apps can offer employees a way to interact in a less formal way or schedule some virtual meetings that are purely for personal interaction and not work chat.
• Create an environment of transparency and trust. Managers can’t physically keep an eye on their team when they are working from home, so it’s important that everyone, if they haven’t already, learns to trust each other to be doing what they should be. A sense of openness and being trusted has a positive impact on employees’ wellbeing and morale and actually supports productivity, not skiving.
• Schedule team breaks and encourage employees to engage in non-work-related chats during these times. Leaders can set the benchmark here, initiating informal conversations that make everyone engage on a human level.
• Organise virtual happy hours, team lunches, even tea and cake breaks. If the team can’t do their usual Friday after-work drinks, or sit together in the canteen at lunch time, create a new virtual environment for similar activities and encourage everyone to take part.
• Celebrate success and achievement as a team. When people are working remotely it’s easy to overlook the small wins that build a successful project. Recognising when an employee has done a great job, and getting the whole team involved in celebrating, is very important for morale, as well as it keeps everyone energised and enthusiastic about their work.