Community Was Never a Perk. It Was the Point.

Before 2020, I spent a lot of time designing offices that felt less like workplaces and more like playgrounds.

Not in the childish sense. In the human sense.

We offered free, hearty breakfasts every morning. Coffee that didn’t come from a vending machine. Snacks that energized instead of numbed. Game rooms where people could reset their brains. Meditation rooms where they could reset themselves.

These weren’t frivolous perks.

They were infrastructure for connection.

And connection was everything.

One of the most popular additions was the ping pong table. Not because people didn’t want to work—but because of what happened after they played.

Neuroscience shows that activities like ping pong activate multiple regions of the brain at once—motor function, visual processing, strategic thinking. It improves mood, increases alertness, and reduces stress. But more importantly, it creates shared moments.

Moments where hierarchy disappears. Where conversation happens naturally. Where people become more than coworkers.

They become a community.

And community made work better.

Then Everything Changed

When COVID hit, the workplace shifted almost overnight.

Hybrid work.
Remote work.
Employees moving away.

At first, there were clear benefits.

People gained time back. They could take their kids to school. They didn’t have to spend 45 minutes commuting each way. They could live closer to family. Closer to nature. Closer to the life they wanted—not someday, but now.

Organizations saved money too.

Less office space.
Less overhead.
A lot fewer coffee pods.

It felt efficient.

But something else quietly disappeared.

Community.

And the cost of losing it wasn’t financial.

It was human.

Loneliness increased. Disconnection crept in. Engagement softened.

People were working, but they weren’t experiencing work together.

What Employees Tell Us, Again and Again

When you ask employees what matters most, communication is usually at the top of the list.

But right behind it is something just as important:

The opportunity to connect with each other.

Not constantly.

Not artificially.

But meaningfully.

Even if it’s once a year.

Even if it’s once a quarter.

Even if it’s just occasionally.

People want to feel part of something.

Because work was never just about the tasks.

It was about the shared experience.

The Budget Isn’t the Barrier You Think It Is

Many leaders assume meaningful connection requires travel budgets, offsites, and expensive events.

It doesn’t.

What it requires is ownership.

Managers are already stretched thin. They don’t have the time to plan trivia nights, host virtual happy hours, or coordinate social programming.

But here’s the truth:

Your employees will tell you what they want.

And often, they’ll build it themselves—if you let them.

When employees facilitate connection, something powerful happens.

They don’t just attend. They own.

Ownership deepens connection—not just to each other, but to the organization itself.

Community Still Happens. It Just Looks Different Now.

In a hybrid and remote world, community isn’t limited to physical space.

It lives in shared spaces of interest.

Some of the strongest connections I’ve seen in remote workplaces have formed in something as simple as a Teams or Webex channel.

A book club channel where employees share what they’re reading.

A TV series channel where employees discuss binge-worthy shows.

A sports channel alive with celebration and heartbreak.

These spaces give employees permission to be human.

To share. To laugh. To relate.

And those small moments build something much bigger.

They build belonging.

Invite Employees to Create the Moments

Community doesn’t need to be assigned.

It needs to be invited.

Ask employees:

What would help you feel more connected?

What would you enjoy being part of?

What would you like to lead?

You may find employees who want to host virtual coffee chats, run book discussions, teach meditation sessions, or organize fantasy leagues.

Not because they have to.

Because they want to.

And when employees help create community, it becomes more authentic than anything leadership could design on its own.

Community Is Still the Infrastructure

Before COVID, community lived in physical space.

Now it lives in intentional space.

But its importance hasn’t changed.

Community improves mental health, strengthens engagement, makes work more meaningful, and reminds people they’re not alone.

Employee experience was never about the office.

It was about how people felt inside it.

And that responsibility still exists—whether your employees are sitting next to each other or miles apart.

Because at the end of the day, people don’t just want a place to work.

They want a place to belong.