The shift to remote work and working from home have impacted corporate culture, despite companies’ efforts to foster virtual interactions and socializing. Data from a study by ratings and reviews platform Clutch found that 63 percent of employees spend less time socializing with their colleagues—both in-person and virtually—since COVID-19 was declared a pandemic.
Businesses are investing in methods to communicate virtually. Among respondents to the study’s survey, 26 percent say their company has provided its employees with greater access to communication technology in the past 30 days, a number that Clutch expects to increase. However, despite experts believing that businesses will host more virtual social events as companies acclimate to remote work, one-third of employees (35 percent) report that their company has not hosted a virtual social event since they started working remotely due to the pandemic. Only 13 percent report that their office is holding happy hours, while nine percent say their office is hosting activities and games. Just five percent report virtual meals being held.
The most popular virtual social event is professional development sessions, a fusion that Clutch notes can be both fun and beneficial. Yet, fewer than one in five (19 percent) say that professional development sessions have been held.
A bright spot in the study is the availability of managers during remote work. More than four in five (81 percent) say that their manager is as available or more available since the start of remote work. With only 19 percent of employees reporting that their manager is less available because of remote work, Clutch suggests that this shows that America’s managers are adapting well to working remote.
The full report is available here.
