{"id":467,"date":"2022-06-13T16:54:14","date_gmt":"2022-06-13T16:54:14","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2025-06-25T07:18:24","modified_gmt":"2025-06-25T15:18:24","slug":"mystery-hybrid-workspace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/startups\/blog\/mystery-hybrid-workspace\/","title":{"rendered":"Intentionally building a web of connections in the hybrid workspace"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
The past two years have led to a dramatic shift in the way we work. Initially, there were questions about whether or not remote work could be productive (turns out, it can be!) and later people started thinking about long-term strategies and retention. The battle for talent ramped up because great workers could work anywhere without geographical constraints as people started to embrace the hybrid workspace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The perks of working from \u201canywhere\u201d aside, being away from the office can make work feel transactional\u2014lonely, even. Many companies were quick to ramp up virtual happy hours, establish best practices for chat and video calls, and surprise employees at home with company swag and delivered lunches. But, most of those efforts didn\u2019t dig deep enough to actually address the core problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the end of the day, our happiness is intertwined with feeling connected to others. In the same way that happiness outside of work is strongly connected to friends and family, fostering a healthy web of workplace relationships is essential to being happy at work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nYou can\u2019t shove the office into an online meeting, but you can work to build solutions that foster relationships intentionally.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Building connections<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
In the old workspace paradigm, relationships were based on convenience. You connected with those who happened to be close to you\u2014at the coffee machine, in a shared cubicle, in the same 10 meetings every day. Things happened organically and a lot was based on happenstance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But this also meant a lot of potential opportunities were missed. Chances are, you know your team and direct manager, but your connection to the wider leadership and the rest of the team was usually limited. Thanks to the disruption of the workplace over the last couple years, we\u2019ve realized that virtual data adds a much-needed layer to this web of connections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n