A few years ago, the idea of running a company without an office sounded strange. Desks, meeting rooms, and coffee machines were part of the picture of “real work.” Then the world shifted. People started working from home, coffee shops, or even the beach, and suddenly companies realized that productivity didn’t always depend on a shared building.
Now, many teams face a big question: should they stay remote-first, or go back to being office-centric? And maybe even more importantly, how do you build a real company culture when half your team might be on a video call from a different time zone?
The truth is, both setups can work beautifully, and both can fall apart if you’re not careful. In an office-centric company, culture happens naturally. People chat before meetings, laugh over lunch, and share small moments that make them feel connected. You don’t have to work as hard to create those interactions; they just happen. But when everyone’s in one place, it’s also easy to lose touch with flexibility. Some people feel stuck in routines or tied to a commute that drains their creativity.
Remote-first companies flip that balance. There’s freedom in being able to work from anywhere, and it opens the door to hiring amazing people from all over the world. But culture doesn’t grow on its own when your team is spread across screens. You have to build it intentionally, through communication, trust, and a shared sense of purpose. Without that effort, remote work can start to feel like just a collection of isolated individuals sending messages back and forth.
The best remote cultures tend to over-communicate. They celebrate wins loudly, make time for casual check-ins, and use digital tools in creative ways to stay connected. It’s not about pretending an online chat can replace a hallway conversation, it’s about finding new ways to make those same emotional connections happen, even if they look different.
Some companies try to blend both worlds. They keep a small office but treat it as optional, a place for connection rather than control. Others go fully remote and organize yearly retreats so the team can meet face-to-face. What really matters isn’t the setup itself, but the spirit behind it. Culture isn’t defined by walls or video calls; it’s defined by how people treat each other, how they communicate, and what they’re working toward together.
The real challenge of building culture today isn’t choosing remote or office. It’s making sure everyone, no matter where they are, feels like they belong to something bigger than themselves. When people feel trusted, supported, and seen, culture thrives, whether it’s through a laptop camera or across a shared table.
At the end of the day, great teams aren’t built by location. They’re built by intention. The companies that understand that are the ones turning this new, flexible world of work into something that actually works.
