Remote work is not a culture

If you've ever worked remotely, you probably know it can be awesome. Freeing. Uber-productive. Fan-freaking-tastic. Or it can be lonely. Isolating. Unproductive. You get my drift. After spending 8+ years working remotely while building and leading remote teams, I can tell you that it's not for everyone. It's also not a culture.

We know the importance of company culture for employee productivity, cohesion, and a million other notable reasons. But before you declare that your great company has an amazing culture for all employees, please do yourself a favor and think about your remote employees. Just because someone works remotely does *not* mean that they enjoy even half of the benefits of the culture you've so carefully cultivated. If you have even a few remote employees (or employees who work remotely on a semi-consistent basis), you need to go above and beyond to fold them and their contributions into your company culture. Yes, this means there's more work to do for these remote employees and their managers.

Regardless of where we work, we are our best selves when we feel heard, supported, and part of a community. Remote work is growing – according to Gallup's State of the Workforce report, 43% of Americans said they spent at least some time working remotely last year, up from 39% in 2012. Don't relegate your remote employees to an island far away from your company's employee community. You need a remote workforce strategy.

Let's bring that island a little closer to home so we can all do better, brighter work, together.