Fostering Community in a Digital Workplace

Let’s face it, it feels like we are going into month 1,000 of working from home. To get out of the virtual funk, we are always looking for creative ways to stay connected and break up the day-to-day grind.

Enter Corporate Ink’s most unique event yet – an interactive palm and tarot card reading with the incredible Sherrie Lynne. If you are like me, you may be wondering, how does a psychic work over video chat? But right away we realized that the digital aspect was no hurdle for Sherrie. She dove right in and made us all feel comfortable and connected. The experience allowed us to learn more about one another and reflect. It may not be your average “team bonding” event, but we left feeling recharged and with a strengthened sense of community.

The People Make the Place.

When we think about “community” it often revolves around a physical space. Not only because the first part of the definition starts as “a group of people in the same place…” but because when we think about what community means it often has ties to a shared area, whether that be a place as big as a city, or as small as an office.

When that physical space is taken away, like our Boston-based office, it can seem like the “community” aspect disappears. But after this activity, it made me realize that while we may no longer have our morning elevator rides, or Thursday happy hours in the common room, community and company culture isn’t about physical spaces. It is all about the people.

Cultivating Culture – Virtually.

When hard times strike, like the events of the last year (that’s right, a full year) it is crucial to make the time to connect with the people you work with. Whether that means checking-in on how their weekend was, bonding over the season finale of a show, or even interpreting what the “The High Priestess” tarot card may mean in your personal life (in front of your boss), work culture and team bonding is everything.

We are a people-first agency for a reason, and even when we are interacting over a tiny screen, we stick to that. According to the Harvard Business Review, “online communities connect like-minded colleagues not just to work but also to bring their whole selves to the job, celebrating their identities, discussing their personal interests and building relationships that facilitate work in the long run.” So, who knows what our next virtual event may be, but whatever it is, it can only strengthen our community and add to the culture we continue to cultivate. Our culture is our one unique identifier, it makes Corporate Ink, Corporate Ink. It’s our secret weapon.

Interested in joining the team? Check out the position we are currently seeking to fill, here.