Lin Grensing-Pophal, Contributing Editor at HR Daily Advisor 

Apr. 24, 2025 | Employee Wellness

With remote and hybrid models as part of the workplace norm, companies face the challenge of how to sustain—and evolve—company culture without the daily rituals of shared office life. With employees dispersed across cities, time zones, and even continents, many organizations are working to redefine how connection, trust, and shared values show up in a virtual world.

For this feature, we spoke with two experts in company culture: Rick Smith, faculty director of the Human Capital Development Lab at the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, and Jen Ughetta, Chief People Officer at Liberty Mutual.

Smith notes that flexibility has clear individual benefits. “Research shows that firms that allow their employees to have more flexibility will likely find reduced absenteeism and turnover coupled with improved productivity and employee wellbeing,” he says. “It is no wonder that many employees would prefer to have the flexibility to work from home a few days a week.”

But flexibility has a cost. “There is growing concern about the impact of various modalities on the organization,” Smith explains. “The coordination, norms, values, and behavior in a group or organization is often equally or even more important than the capabilities of individuals.” As Smith points out, having great individual players doesn’t necessarily make a great team.

So how do organizations maintain cohesion while honoring flexibility? Smith’s research suggests the answer lies in deliberate culture-building: “Not only did we find that employee wellbeing is higher in firms that offer some flexibility, but also that these firms also have a higher level of trust and confidence in management. When we explored this further, we found that these organizations also worked hard to address organization culture.”

That work spans several areas. First, successful organizations are intentional about how and where different types of work happen. “Leading organizations strive to align work activities in a way that individual tasks (spreadsheets, processes, writing, etc.) are done remotely while group tasks (meetings, brainstorming, innovation, reviews, etc.) are done together in the office,” Smith says.

Mentoring is another priority—particularly for new hires. “For employees new to the organization, the in-person experiences are more important as they understand culture and build their own networks,” Smith notes. “Finding ways for more workplace interaction has become a core part of onboarding in some organizations.”

Being purposeful about in-office time is also key. “People want to make sure that their commuting time to the office location is worth the effort and expense,” he says. “Many leading organizations work to make sure that the days on site are celebrated with purpose. This includes sponsored lunches, happy hours, town hall meetings, visitors, and other activities that provide an impact for the day.”

Other strategies involve community building, cross-department collaboration, and physical workspaces designed for conversation. Smith points to organizations that host local events or bring in community leaders. “For example, one firm brought in the owners of the local restaurants in the area to share more about life in that part of the city.”

Cross-functional teaming is equally important to avoid the silos that remote work can reinforce. “Some organizations find ways to create cross-team, inter-department, and/or cross-functional collaboration to address challenges, opportunities, or learning,” Smith explains.

Some companies are even building “free time for exploring” into their in-office schedules. “Allowing a bit of space and innovation time can provide long-term benefits, yet requires a high trust environment,” Smith says, citing the example of Google engineers being given time to pursue independent ideas.

Finally, physical spaces themselves matter. “Providing spaces that look more like a coffee shop with flexible workspaces can help create crosstalk with colleagues while sharing information,” Smith says.

One organization embracing many of these principles is Liberty Mutual. With a workforce of more than 40,000 employees around the world, the company has embraced a hybrid model where flexibility and culture go together.

“At Liberty Mutual, we are committed to fostering a culture where every employee feels valued, cared for and supported so they can be there for each other, our customers and the communities around us,” says Ughetta of Liberty Mutual. “We’ve long championed a hybrid environment where employees feel like they’re doing meaningful work while also having the flexibility to maintain a healthy work-life balance.”

More than half of Liberty Mutual’s workforce is largely virtual. Ughetta explains that different teams are empowered to determine “the right times, ways and cadence for teams to work and use our office spaces to bring people together.” The goal is not to mandate presence but to make time together valuable. “We’re re-imagining the way our offices are constructed,” she says, “by creating and testing new spaces that support productivity and connection.”

Those physical changes include “community floors as designated areas where teams can collaborate more easily,” as well as new types of meeting rooms and digital tools to help colleagues connect and find one another in the office. “By creating spaces in our offices where employees can come together to collaborate, innovate and network, we’re seeing more purposeful uses of time together,” she says.

Connection is reinforced through employee resource groups, recognition programs, and volunteer efforts. “Our seven employee resource groups, with more than 16,000 active members, serve as a safe space to share stories, find shared experiences, and support those around them,” Ughetta says. The company also offers a peer-to-peer recognition program called Shine and promotes local community involvement through corporate volunteer weeks.

To keep a pulse on employee needs, Liberty Mutual uses regular feedback tools. “Through our data-driven listening strategy, we capture regular employee feedback and sentiment about programs, offerings, and policies including our hybrid work approach,” Ughetta says. “We’re then able to integrate that feedback into decision-making to ensure we’re co-creating initiatives with our employees.”

The company’s approach to wellbeing is equally broad. “We offer a comprehensive suite of benefits, programs, and tools that promote the total wellbeing of our employees—financially, emotionally and physically,” Ughetta says. That includes onsite health centers, free virtual mental health sessions, digital stress management tools, and virtual physical therapy.

Ongoing development and employee innovation are part of the culture, too. “Underpinned by a culture of continuous growth and experimentation, we invest in our global employees’ future through tools, resources, and programs such as coaching, mentorship, and hands-on experimentation,” Ughetta explains. “Our companywide Innovation Challenge invites employees across the organization to share their ideas on how we can make things easier, better, and faster.” Last year, more than 1,100 ideas were submitted from employees in 20 countries.

Leadership visibility is the final piece. “Cultivating an inclusive and values-driven culture starts with our executive leadership team,” Ughetta says. Leaders stay connected through hybrid, virtual, and in-person events, conversations, and feedback sessions. “Being heard and trusted by leaders is one of our strongest ‘moments that matter’ for our employees,” she adds.

As remote work continues to reshape the modern workplace, one thing is clear: culture doesn’t disappear outside the office—it just takes more intentional work to sustain. Whether through flexible space design, feedback loops, or everyday connection, the most forward-thinking organizations are investing not just in where employees work, but how they feel while doing it.

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