Photo by Charles DeluvioThe COVID-19 pandemic drove a shift in how organisations manoeuvre, with many transitioning from traditional office settings to fully remote work almost overnight. What started as a substitute or interim measure soon revealed unexpected benefits—greater flexibility, cost savings, and access to a broader talent pool. Yet, as remote work settled into routine, deeper challenges began to surface, questioning long-term viability.
Today, the debate isn’t about whether remote work should exist—it’s about how we balance it with in-person interaction to maintain culture, collaboration, and innovation. While remote work has its merits, the isolation it can create poses a real threat to individual and organisational health and sustainability.
Leaders and organisations must consider how to reintroduce the office, not as a relic of the past, but as something critical to future success.
The hidden costs of remote work
Initially, remote work and working from home seemed like a win-win situation. Numerous people felt more in control of their time, and businesses saw a fairly consistent output. But over time, it hasn’t proven easy to sustain. What we see now are increased levels of burnout, fatigue, isolation and decreased mental health and wellbeing among remote workers. Without clear boundaries, the workday often becomes longer, and the pressure to always be on and available is increasing. Remote work is definitely not for everyone, as not everyone possesses the discipline to set boundaries for themselves or others.
Productivity is about more than merely the output—it’s about relationships, engagement, well-being, and connection. In remote environments, people often struggle with time management and motivation, especially without the energy and accountability from being at an office surrounded by colleagues.
For teams who are solving complex problems, the absence of in-person interaction can prevent decision-making and limit knowledge exchange. Consequently, this can reduce both creativity and productivity.
Innovation needs human connection
Innovation rarely happens in isolation, as it’s sparked by conversation, built on mutual understanding, and accelerated through spontaneous in-person interactions. This is something that virtual and remote settings struggle to replicate.
Coffee and lunch breaks, informal conversations, and in-person brainstorming sessions create the conditions for creative thinking, acknowledgement and direct feedback. Face-to-face interaction also enables clearer communication and a more profound sense of connection. Body language and comments in an office can communicate more than any email or video call.
These nuances are crucial to building momentum, trust, and shared purpose—especially in fast-moving or creative industries.
Organisational culture is built through in-person interactions
Culture isn’t built through virtual calls or online chat and messages—it’s developed through everyday interactions. In-person work helps nurture a sense of belonging, shared values, and team and organisational identity. It also allows mentoring relationships to grow and evolve, and gives newly onboarded team members a stronger sense of the organisation’s purpose and DNA.
In fully remote or poorly managed hybrid models, culture risks becoming fragmented and inconsistent. Employees can start feeling disconnected or siloed, and departments may begin to operate independently in isolation. Over time, this can lead to reduced drive and motivation, reduced engagement, and higher turnover.
Of course, remote work provides access to a global and diverse talent pool. However, it also presents challenges when it comes to onboarding new team members and fostering professional development. Career progression often relies on recognition, visibility, mentoring, and learning by example—elements that tend to occur organically in shared physical spaces through knowledge sharing and face-to-face interactions. Remote employees may miss out on informal coaching, networking opportunities, and exposure to senior leaders.
Leadership skills, in particular, are developed through in-person feedback, observation, and collaboration. The physical workplace enables employees to absorb organisational norms, build confidence, and grow into leadership roles in ways that are difficult to replicate in an online environment.
Hybrid work: balance or compromise?
Many organisations are now adopting hybrid models in an attempt to find a balance. While this offers flexibility, it also introduces a new level of complexity. Ensuring fairness and unbiased treatment of remote and on-site employees, maintaining consistent communication, and keeping teams aligned requires thoughtful planning and strong leadership.
Hybrid or remote work isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution. Leaders must be clear and intentional about when and why teams come together, ensuring office time is used for collaboration, connection, team and culture-building, not just administration and routine tasks. Without clear purpose, hybrid arrangements risk becoming disjointed and/or ineffective.
Why the office still matters
Ultimately, senior management and leadership are responsible for creating environments where people, associations and organisations can thrive. Remote work has its place, but relying merely on online work is not sustainable. The onsite work and office remain a vital space for innovation, relationships, culture, development, and connection.
This doesn’t mean abandoning flexibility—it means designing work models that bring out the best in people, creating energising and motivating environments where people can perform and thrive. That can include hybrid policies, purposeful in-office days, and a renewed focus on collaboration and mentorship.
What matters is that organisations don’t lose sight of what makes them strong and sustainable: shared experiences, collective ambition, and a vibrant, healthy, connected culture.
In the end, the return to the office isn’t about dismissing the benefits of remote work. It’s about acknowledging that meaningful, in-person interaction plays an essential role in building resilient, creative, and high-performing organisations. The future of work lies not in choosing between home and office, but in integrating the two to create a dynamic, flexible, and people-focused workplace. The office must remain a cornerstone of this new working model—one that supports connection, growth, and innovation.