Return-to-office policies and getting to know your coworkers

I (used to) do improv comedy. Improv comedy is a type of performance where the performers make everything up on the spot. There is no script. You usually get a suggestion (a word or phrase) from the audience and make up a story as you go.

In one of my first classes, the instructor told us to start each scene with the mindset that the characters we were making up “know each other and like each other”. You don’t want to start out the scene as characters who are meeting each other for the first time (“uhhh… oh yes, I think I saw you in the park yesterday”), or fall into the trap of creating a tense and argumentative scene (“You never listen, Josh! This is just like you!”).

This leads to better scenes. You build better things together when you know and like each other.

It’s the same at work. It’s easier and more enjoyable to collaborate with people that you know and like.

I think this is why many companies have recently announced stricter return to office policies. It’s a way to hopefully get people to interact with and get to know each other.

However, just because you make everyone come to the office doesn’t mean they’ll interact. Most people are too busy to do anything outside of work. So you end up with a lot of coworkers awkwardly smiling at each other on their way to get coffee. Most people are jumping from meeting to meeting.

Another difficulty is that members of a team may be scattered across different offices. Our team of seven is spread across Calgary, Vancouver, and Toronto. So even with return to office mandates, I wouldn’t form closer connections with the actual people that I should have a closer connection with.

Recently, our team was lucky enough to have an onsite. Although a big component of the onsite was planning for the future of the project and discussing things in more depth, I think the real benefit was just getting to know each other in a casual setting; just having dinner together, making some jokes, and thinking “hey this guy’s pretty cool. I like working with him.”

Team culture doesn’t come automatically from being in the same office. There are plenty of people in our office who I don’t know.

So what can be done? We can all make an effort to get to know each other.

If you’re a manager, organize a casual team social. Make sure to pay for the food. Make sure people are talking to each other, and they feel safe letting their guard down. People will do what you do. So set the standard. Be open. Have some fun!

If you’re in senior leadership, encourage, and approve onsites for teams. Make sure your managers understand that onsites and “hanging out” is a valid goal in and of itself. It might not seem like it furthers the company’s goals, but teams that know each other and like each other work better together.

If you’re just a regular worker like me, ask a coworker out for coffee or lunch. Sit down and chat with them even if you don’t directly work with them. You don’t want it to be such that the only time you see this coworker is in stressful meetings.

Worst case scenario: you make a couple new friends at work :)